The herpetofauna of Timor-Leste: a first report
Author
Kaiser, Hinrich
Department of Biology, Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, California 92395, USA; and The Foundation for Post-Conflict Development, 245 Park Avenue, 24 th Floor, New York, New York 10167, USA
chalcopis@yahoo.com
Author
Carvalho, Venancio Lopes
Universidade National Timor-Lorosa'e, Faculdade de Ciencias da Educacao, Departamentu da Biologia, Avenida Cidade de Lisboa, Liceu Dr. Francisco Machado, Dili, Timor-Leste
Author
Ceballos, Jester
Department of Biology, Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, California 92395, USA; and The Foundation for Post-Conflict Development, 245 Park Avenue, 24 th Floor, New York, New York 10167, USA
Author
Freed, Paul
14149 S. Butte Creek Road, Scotts Mills, Oregon 97375, USA
Author
Heacox, Scott
Department of Biology, Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, California 92395, USA; and The Foundation for Post-Conflict Development, 245 Park Avenue, 24 th Floor, New York, New York 10167, USA
Author
Lester, Barbara
14149 S. Butte Creek Road, Scotts Mills, Oregon 97375, USA
Author
Richards, Stephen J.
Conservation International, PO Box 1024, Atherton, Queensland 4883, Australia; and Herpetology Department, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
Author
Trainor, Colin R.
School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0909, Australia
Author
Sanchez, Caitlin
Department of Biology, Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, California 92395, USA; and The Foundation for Post-Conflict Development, 245 Park Avenue, 24 th Floor, New York, New York 10167, USA
Author
O'Shea, Mark
West Midland Safari Park, Bewdley, Worcestershire DY 12 1 LF, United Kingdom; and Australian Venom Research Unit, Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
text
ZooKeys
2011
2011-06-20
109
19
86
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.109.1439
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.109.1439
1313-2970-109-19
FFDE6B4A96644D30FFD8FFEA7F28FFF8
577024
Genus
Cyrtodactylus
Fig. 9
Common name.
(E) Timor Bent-toed Gecko. *(T) Teki ain-fuan kleuk (teki = small gecko, kleuk = bent, ain-fuan = toe).
Identification.
This candidate species of
Cyrtodactylus
, designated as
Cyrtodactylus
sp. 1 [Ca CMD 383], lacks the characteristic orange banding pattern of the tokay gecko (
Gekko gecko
) and has dorsal patterning with a greater amount of brown components (spots, flecks, lines) than any other gecko found on Timor. In its size, it is intermediate between the common house geckos (
Hemidactylus frenatus
,
Gehyra mutilata
) and the tokay gecko, and it does not have a flattened tail or dorsolateral skin flaps as in
Hemidactylus platyurus
. It is also the only gecko to possess non-dilated digits, unlike those found in typical geckos. Instead the toes are slender and curved (
Fig. 9
), resulting in various names being inconsistently applied to members of the genus (e.g., bent-toed geckos, naked-toed geckos, bow-fingered geckos). The genus
Cyrtodactylus
is the most diverse genus within the seven families comprising the Gekkota, with at least 130 species described.
Collection and natural history.
Two specimens of what is clearly an undescribed species of
Cyrtodactylus
were captured on the same night at the Trilolo River near Same, Manufahi District (altitude 553 m). There are substantial differences in pholidosis and overall morphology from all known species of
Cyrtodactylus
(see
Roesler
and Glaw 2008
:
Table 1
). One individual was found on a boulder-face along the riverbank, while the second was in leaf litter at the foot of a large boulder at the boundary between riverine habitat and coffee plantation.
Figure 9.
Undescribed species of
Cyrtodactylus
. Female from near Same, Manufahi District (USNM [CMD 383], SVL 58 mm, TL 127 mm). Photo by Hinrich Kaiser.