Gekko qiannanensis Huang, Ma, Jiang & Wu 2026, sp. nov.

Engineering notes

In males, the postcloacal tubercle is significantly larger than in females.

Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为端到端自动驾驶、BEV感知、3D目标检测、轨迹预测、路径规划、LiDAR感知等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

Gekko qiannanensis Huang, Ma, Jiang & Wu sp. nov. Figs 5, 6; Tables 4, 5 Type materials. Holotype. China • ♂: Guizhou Province, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Changshun County, 25.728°N, 106.390°E, ca. 1 030 m a. s. l., 18 August 2025, collected by Jie Huang et Guxi Yao, JSU -HJ 2025024. Paratypes. China • 2 ♂: Guizhou Province, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Changshun County, 25.728°N, 106.390°E, ca. 1 030 m a. s. l., 24 June 2025, collected by Jie Huang et Yang Xiao, JSU -HJ 2025001 – HJ 2025002. China • 2 ♂: same collected information as holotype, JSU -HJ 2025025, CIB -MS 1441. China • 4 ♀: same collected information as holotype, JSU -HJ 2025023, JSU -HJ 2025026 – HJ 2025027, CIB -MS 1442. Etymology and suggested Chinese and English name. The specific epithet, qiannanensis, is derived from the Chinese pinyin of its type locality in Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The Chinese name for the new species is suggested as “ 黔南壁虎 ” (pinyin: qián nán bì hǔ), and the English is suggested as “ Qiannan Gecko. ” Diagnosis. Gekko qiannanensis sp. nov. is assigned to the subgenus Japonigekko according to phylogenetic analysis. It can be distinguished from other congeners in Japonigekko by the following characters: moderate body size: SVL 65.4–82.9 mm in adult males, 77.7–91.7 mm in adult females; two enlarged postmentals; nares in contact with the rostral, internasal absent; subdigital lamellae: fourth fingers 14–16, first toes 9–11, fourth toes 14–17; moderately developed toe webbing, originating proximal to subdigital lamellae; interorbitals 28–38; Midbody scale rows 134–155; ventral scale rows 42–49; precloacal pores 10–11 in males; a single postcloacal tubercle on each side; dorsum earth gray, with six dirty-white bands between nape and sacrum. Description of the holotype (Fig. 5; Tables 4, 5). Adult male. Moderate size. SVL 74.5 mm. Tail slightly longer (TaL 84.2 mm, TaL / SVL 1.13). Head depressed (HH / HL 0.38), length exceeds width (HL / HW 1.24), distinct from neck. Rostral rectangular, nearly twice as wide as high (RW / RH 1.88), slightly wider than mental (RW / MW 1.1), mid-dorsal notch approx. one-third. Nares oval, bordered by rostral, first supralabial, supranasal, two enlarged nasals posteriorly. Internasals absent. Preorbital region deeply concave. Eye large (ED / HL 0.23), pupil vertical, margins crenulated. Ear opening elliptical, obliquely oriented, moderate size (EOD / ED 0.17). Mental pentagonal, wider than long (MW / ML 1.6). Postmentals two, hexagonal, enlarged, twice as long as wide, touching mental and first infralabial on both sides, six gular scales posteriorly. Interorbitals 36. Supralabials 12 / 10. Infralabials 9 / 9. Granulars on anterodorsal head larger than posterior. Tubercles absent on dorsal head, present on side head, mostly above ear, surrounded by nine or 10 dorsal scales. Body slender, elongate (AG / SVL 0.43). Dorsals smooth, round or oval, granular, juxtaposed. Tubercles flattened, sparse, six rows, surrounded by eight or nine dorsal scales, absent on other regions. Lateral fold present, no tubercles. Ventrals larger than dorsals, smooth, imbricate, largest in belly center. Ventral scale rows at mid-body 44. Scale rows around mid-body 149. Ventral scales from mental to cloacal slit 164. Precloacal scales enlarged, none on thighs. Precloacal pores 11, continuous row. Postcloacal tubercle 1 / 1, large. Fore- and hind-limbs well-developed. Tubercles absent on dorsal limbs and tail. Digits moderately dilated. II – IV fingers and toes clawed. Claws laterally depressed, extend beyond terminal lamellae. Webbing moderate, originates proximal to subdigital lamellae. Subdigital lamellae undivided, under manus 11-12 - 13 - 15 - 10 (left), 12-11 - 13 - 14 - 12 (right); under pes 10-13 - 15 - 15 - 10 (left), 11-12 - 15 - 15 - 13 (right). Relative finger and toe length I <II <V <III <IV. Tail original (Fig. 7), swollen at base, oval section. Dorsal scales small, flat, smooth. Caudal whorl distinct. Subcaudals enlarged, arranged longitudinally. Coloration of the holotype (Fig. 5). In life, the dorsal surface of the head and body is earth gray. An inverted O-shaped marking on the occipital region is connected to a W-shaped marking. Between the nape and sacrum are six regularly arranged, earth gray bands. A thin earth gray vertebral line runs from the nape to the tail tip. The limbs are dark gray with numerous faint pale markings. The dorsal tail is black and displays seven bands, which transition from dirty white to pure white toward the tip. The ventral surface of the holotype is light flesh-colored. In preservative, the dorsal ground color of the head, body, and limbs is grayish black, while the ventral surface fades to grayish white. Morphological variation. It is worth noting that the dorsal tubercle rows (DTR) of Gekko qiannanensis sp. nov. appear to vary considerably, ranging from 0 to 12. Other measurements and scale counts of nine individuals are shown in Suppl. material 1: table SS 5. Secondary sexual characteristics (Figs 5, 6). Precloacal pores are present in males and absent in females. In males, the postcloacal tubercle is significantly larger than in females. Vertebrate (Fig. 7). The vertebral column is composed of four regions: cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, sacral vertebrae, and caudal vertebrae. The holotype has seven cervical, 16 thoracic, one sacral, and 38 caudal vertebrae. The female paratype JSU -HJ 2025023 has seven cervical, 18 thoracic, one sacral, and 39 caudal vertebrae. Remarks. The new species was discovered in Daihua Town, Changshun County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province (Fig. 1). This region is situated in the Miaoling Mountain area, characterized by typical karst landforms and a subtropical monsoon humid climate (Fig. 1 A, C). The specific collection site was a driving school (25.728°N, 106.390°E, approximately 1,030 m a. s. l.), located relatively remotely on the edge of the town, surrounded by mountains, and featuring several small wooden cabins (Fig. 1 B). On 24 June 2025, under overcast conditions with intermittent showers and an evening temperature of approximately 20 ° C, a collection was conducted at approximately 21: 00 hours during a period of no rainfall. Several geckos were found on the cabins, from which three individuals were collected. Two of these were later designated as paratypes. A second collection was carried out on 18 August 2025. The weather was cloudy with scattered showers. At approximately 20: 00 hours, with temperatures near 20 ° C, collection began under nearly rain-free conditions after an initial light drizzle. During this survey, an abandoned concrete building was also located, and seven additional individuals were collected from its walls. On 16 January 2026, during another trip in Guizhou, the site where the new species was discovered was revisited for further investigation. At the time, the temperature was approximately 10 ° C, and no geckos were observed. However, at the corner of an old dilapidated house (Fig. 1 C) where geckos had previously been found, adhesive gecko eggs were discovered attached to the wall at a height of approximately 3 m. A total of 16 eggs were found, two of which seemed to be hatching, while the remaining 14 had already hatched (Fig. 8 A). The eggshells of hatched eggs were milky white with brownish fluid stains around the openings, while the hatching eggs were unbroken and appeared bluish white. All eggs were adhered to one another in clusters, with some pairs bonded together and some clusters consisting of up to six eggs. It is speculated that this gecko species exhibits a habit of communal egg-laying and may lay two or more eggs at a time. Since the eggshells were too brittle to collect, the two hatching eggs were collected along with the attached wall fragments (Fig. 8 B). The two eggs measured 17 mm in length and 11 mm in width and 16 mm in length and 10 mm in width, respectively. All eggs exhibited an asymmetrical ovoid shape, with one end broader than the other. Due to the ongoing trip, the eggs were temporarily stored in a paper box wrapped with cotton cloth, and their condition was checked daily. Because the air conditioning was kept on during the stay, the temperature was slightly higher. At 21: 05 hours on 23 January 2026, the larger egg had hatched, with one juvenile emerging (Fig. 8 C – E). However, the smaller egg appeared decayed, and no juvenile emerged in the following days. Comparisons. The new species can be distinguished from its phylogenetic sister species, G. paucituberculatus, by the following combination of characters: smaller ED / HL (0.20–0.23 vs. 0.26–0.27); fewer SMC (149–182 vs. 189–192); more LF 4 (14–16 vs. 12–13); more LT 4 (14–17 vs. 11–13); larger maximum SVL (91.7 mm vs. 85.9 mm); moderately developed (vs. weakly) toe webbing in males; toe webbing starts proximal (vs. distal) to subdigital lamellae; Dorsum earth gray, vs. grayish brown. The new species can be further distinguished from the other four closely related congeners by both morphometric and meristic features (Table 3). Specifically, it is distinguished from G. kwangsiensis by fewer SMC (149–182 vs. 185–208); more LT 4 (14–17 vs. 11–13); absence (vs. presence) of tail tubercles; moderately developed (vs. weakly) toe webbing in males. ANOVA shows significant differences in HW / SVL, HH / SVL, RW / SVL, and ED / SVL. It is distinguished from G. fengshanensis by fewer SMC (149–182 vs. 193–213); moderately developed (vs. weakly) toe webbing in males. ANOVA shows significant differences in HW / SVL, HH / SVL, and ED / SVL. It is distinguished from G. tesselatus by larger SVL (65.4–91.7 mm vs. 37.4–65.3 mm); more PP (10–11 vs. 6–8); more LF 4 (14–16 vs. 9–12); and more LT 4 (14–17 vs. 9–12); moderately developed (vs. absent toe webbing. ANOVA shows significant differences in AG / SVL, SL / SVL, MW / SVL, and RW. It is distinguished from G.

Links and sources

Comments