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Type: Article
Published: 2008-05-28
Page range: 59–68
Abstract views: 121
PDF downloaded: 3

New species of Gekko (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from China: morphological and molecular evidence

Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, China
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, China
Reptilia Gekko wenxianensis sp. nov. Gekkonidae Northwest China description molecular study

Abstract

A new species of Gekko is described from the south slope of the west Qinling Mts in Gansu, China. Gekko wenxianensis, sp. nov., is characterized by its nostril-rostral contact, moderate sized body with dorsal tubercles extending from the occiput and temporal region to the back and tail base, but lacking on the forelimb and thigh, 6–8 precloacal pores in a continuous series in males, and tail generally with two cloacal spurs on each side. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using 1556 bp of mtDNA (825 bp COI and 731 bp cyt b) from 7 species of Gekko indicate that the new species is the sister taxon of G. japonicus. It is the twelfth species of Gekko recorded from China.

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