A New Cyrtodactylus Species(Reptila:Gekkonidae) from Nan Province,Northern Thailand

Here,a new species of bent-toed gecko,Cyrtodactylus phukhaensis sp.nov., is described from Doi Phu Kha,Nan province,Thailand based on molecular and morphological evidence.A phylogeny based on NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2(ND2) and its flanking tRNAs places the new species in the group as a sister taxon to Cyrtodactylus wayakonei.The new species can be differentiated from other members of the chauquangensis group by having a unique combination of 7 or 8 supralabials,23-28 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles,8-10 infralabials,9 femoral pores,7 precloacal pores,40-47 ventral scales,and a lack of bands crossing the temporal area.In addition,results from a chromosome study of C.phukhaensis sp.nov.showed that the new species has a diploid chromosome number of 40 with a fundamental number of 46.The formula of the karyotype was as follows:2 n(40)=2 m+4 sm+34 t.Our findings suggest that further studies of Cyrtodactylus biodiversity in northern Thailand are needed.