Review of the Gekko (Japonigekko) subpalmatus complex (Squamata, Sauria Gekkonidae), with description of a new species from China Author Lyu, Zhi-Tong 0000-0002-4891-3859 State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences / School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, PR China & lvzht @ foxmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 4891 - 3859 & These authors contributed equally to this work lvzht@foxmail.com Author Lin, Chao-Yu State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences / School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, PR China & Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606 - 8502, Japan & These authors contributed equally to this work Author Ren, Jin-Long 0000-0003-4896-7600 Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, PR China & renjl @ cib. ac. cn; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 4896 - 7600 renjl@cib.ac.cn Author Jiang, Ke 0000-0003-3395-7362 Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, PR China & jiangke @ cib. ac. cn; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 3395 - 7362 jiangke@cib.ac.cn Author Zhang, Yin-Peng Michigan State University, East Lansing 48825, MI, United States Author Qi, Shuo 0000-0002-2924-6093 State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences / School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, PR China & qishuo 1992 @ outlook. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 2924 - 6093 qishuo1992@outlook.com Author Wang, Jian 0000-0003-4249-7767 State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol / The Museum of Biology, School of Life Sciences / School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, PR China & wangj 397 @ mail. sysu. edu. cn; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 4249 - 7767 wangj397@mail.sysu.edu.cn text Zootaxa 2021 2021-04-06 4951 2 236 258 journal article 7405 10.11646/zootaxa.4951.2.2 9194d13f-ee38-4281-94fc-12ac35e93d17 1175-5326 4663976 D1C7A75F-FC48-4565-B39B-BFF131EA2585 Gekko ( Japonicgekko ) melli ( Vogt, 1922 ) Chresonymy. Gecko melli — Vogt 1922 Gekko subpalmatus — Pope 1935 (part); Gressitt 1941 ; Bauer & Günther 1991 ; Zhao et al. 1999 (part). Gekko melli — Rösler et al. 2005 ; Rösler & Tiedemann 2007 ; Yang et al. 2012 . Gekko ( Japonigekko ) melli — Wood et al. 2020 Type materials. Lectotype . ZMB 27659 A, adult male, collected by R . Mell from N. O. Kuangtung [= northeastern Guangdong ], PR China ; designated by Bauer & Günther (1991) . Paralectotype . ZMB 27659 B, juvenile, same data as lectotype; designated by Bauer & Günther (1991) . Specimens examined. Two adult male and five adult female specimens. Male SYS r000267 ( Fig. 5B 1 ), collect- ed from Mt. Jiulian, Longnan County, Jiangxi Province , PR China ; male SYS r000440, and females SYS r000438, 0439, 0451–0452, 0453 ( Fig. 5B 2 ), collected from Mt. Yinping, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province , PR China . FIGURE 5. Morphological features of (A) Gekko ( Japonigekko ) subpalmatus and (B) G. ( J. ) melli , in preservative. Common name. Mell’s Gecko (in English); meí shì bì hŭ ( h氏ŧt ). Etymology. The specific name melli is in reference to the collector Rudolf Emil Mell (1878–1970), who was the director of the German-Chinese Middle School at Canton [= Guangzhou City] and collected many animal specimens in Guangdong . His name appeared in Rösler & Tiedemann (2007) as “Robert Mell” due to a typographical mistake (Herbert Rösler, personal communication). Revised diagnosis. (1) medium-sized gecko species, SVL 64.5–80.3 in adults; (2) tubercles on dorsal body, limbs and tail absent; (3) eye moderate, ED/HL ratio 0.21–0.24; (4) rostral moderate, RW/HW ratio 0.20–0.22, RW/RH ratio 1.83–2.13; (5) mental elongate transversely, MW/HW ratio 0.14–0.18, MW/ML ratio 1.11–1.56; (6) nares bordered with rostral, internasals 1–2; (7) interorbital scales between anterior corners of the eyes 34–40; (8) midbody scale rows 148–160; (9) ventral scale rows at midbody 44–46; (10) scales between mental and cloacal slit 171–192; (11) subdigital lamellae on first fingers 9–11, on fourth fingers 9–14, on first toes 10–12, on fourth toes 11–14; (12) fingers and toes with distinct webbing; (13) 9–11 precloacal pores in a continuous row in males; (14) a single postcloacal tubercle on both sides; (14) dorsum greyish white to dark brown, with iregular large dark patches between nape and sacrum; (15) top of head with an small incomplete W-shaped marking, and posteriorly followed by a large inverted W-shaped marking on dorsal neck. ( Fig. 6B ). FIGURE 6. Living color patterns of (A) Gekko ( Japonigekko ) subpalmatus , (B) G. ( J. ) melli , and (C) G. ( J. ) cib sp. nov. . Hemipenial characteristics ( Fig. 3B ): (1) hemipenis clavate, bilobed, densely covered with denticulate-seamed calyces; (2) sulcus spermaticus centrifugal, bifurcate at half of truncus; (3) lateral welt developed, visible from asulcate side, in contact with sulcus lip; (4) calyces extend to lobes and proximal 1/3 of truncus; (5) tongue-like welt weakly developed; (6) apical folds small, arc-shaped, not in contact with each other; (7) a relatively large and rounded area on the asulcate side of the lobe, calyces on this area not well developed ( Fig. 3B , Ch 7). Remark. The original description of Gekko ( Japonigekko ) melli in Vogt (1922) contained no information of locality or designation of type materials. The lectotype and paralectotype was designated by Bauer & Günther (1991) with providing the locality as “N. O. Kuangtung ” [= northeastern Guangdong ] while the exact locus is unavailable. The lectotype and paralectotype were redescribed by Rösler & Tiedemann (2007) . Currently, this species is recognized from multiple localities in eastern and northeastern Guangdong and neighboring southern Jiangxi ( Yang et al. 2012 ; this study). G. ( J. ) melli is also expected to occur in southern Fujian which is geographically related to eastern Guangdong , but confirmation requires further vouchers (see Discussion section).