Gekko wuzhengjuni Yu & Chen sp. nov.

Figs 5, 6

Type materials.

Holotype. • · GXNU 2025090902 (Figs 5 A, 5 B, 6), adult male, collected from Yongfu County (25.0675°N, 109.7434°E; elevation 321 m a. s. l.), Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, on 2 September 2025 by Hanzhang Cai and Zhenhong Kong.

Paratypes. • · GXNU 2025090901 (Fig. 5 C, D), adult females, collected on 2 September 2025 by Hanzhang Cai and Zhenhong Kong; one juvenile female (GXNU 20230926001) collected on 26 September 2023 by the same collectors. All paratypes were obtained from the type locality.

Diagnosis.

G. wuzhengjuni sp. nov. is classified under the subgenus Japonigekko and can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of morphological characteristics: (1) nares contacting the rostral scale, internasal scale absent; (2) two enlarged postmental scales; (3) enlarged tubercles present from the region posterior to the eyes along the neck to the base of the tail, arranged in 8–9 rows at midbody; (4) midbody scale rows numbering 140–143; (5) precloacal pores continuous, numbering 10 in males and absent in females; (6) a single postcloacal tubercle present on each side.

Description of holotype.

Adult male of moderate size, SVL 72.7 mm; head depressed (HH / HL = 0.43), head length exceeding head width (HL / HW = 1.19), distinctly differentiated from neck; snout rounded anteriorly, elongate (SNT / HL = 0.34), longer than the eye diameter (SNT / ED = 1.19); rostral scale rectangular, nearly twice as wide as high (RW / RH = 1.81), and wider than mental width (RW / MW = 1.36); nares oval, bordered by rostral, first supralabial, supranasal, and two enlarged nasal scales posteriorly; internasals absent; preorbitals 18 / 19, preorbital region deeply concave; eye relatively large (ED / HL = 0.29), vertical pupil with crenulated margins; interorbital scales between anterior eye margins 28; ear opening elliptical, obliquely oriented, moderate in size (EOD / ED = 0.50); mental scale pentagonal, wider than long (MW / ML = 1.55); two enlarged hexagonal postmental scales, approximately twice as long as wide, contacting the mental and first infralabial on both sides and bordered posteriorly by five gular scales; supralabials 11 / 11; infralabials 10 / 10; enlarged tubercles present posterior to the eyes; granular scales on the anterodorsal region of the head larger than those in the posterior region.

Body slender and elongate (AG / SVL = 0.47); dorsal scales smooth, rounded to oval, granular, and juxtaposed; tubercles flattened, extending from the postorbital region along the neck to the base of the tail, arranged in nine rows at midbody and each surrounded by nine dorsal scales; ventrolateral fold present, lacking tubercles; ventral scales prominently larger than dorsal scales, smooth, imbricate, largest at midventral region; ventral scale rows at midbody 45; scale rows around midbody 140; ventral scales in a linear series between mental scale and cloacal slit 195; finger and toe webbing present; subdigital lamellae unnotched and undivided; counts of subdigital lamellae as follows: first finger 11 / 10, fourth finger 14 / 14, first toe 11 / 13, fourth toe 13 / 14; relative finger lengths IV> III> V> II> I; relative toe lengths IV> III> V> II> I; precloacal scales enlarged without enlarged scales on thighs; precloacal pores 10, arranged continuously across the midline; one large postcloacal tubercle present on each side.

Specimen with regenerated tail; distinctly swollen at base; dorsal tail scales small, flat, and smooth.

Coloration of holotype.

In living specimens, the dorsal surfaces of the head, body, and limbs display a light reddish-brown coloration, interspersed with white maculations on the snout and the area posterior to the orbit. The iris is characterized by a yellow-green hue with vermiform markings, while the pupil is dark brownish-black. The dorsal surface of the body and limbs, excluding the tail, is marked by dark transverse bars. An intermittent black vertebral line, flanked laterally by tan pigmentation, extends from the nape to the base of the tail. The stripes on the proximal half of the tail, near the cloaca, are confluent and indistinct, with regenerated portions appearing dark gray. The ventral surface of the body is pale flesh colored. When preserved, the dorsal ground coloration of the head, body, and limbs darkens to greyish-black, whereas the ventral surface transitions to greyish-white.

Morphological variation.

Morphometric measurements and scale counts for the three specimens are detailed in Table 2. The female specimen lacks precloacal pores (Fig. 7 A). In males, the postcloacal tubercle is significantly larger than that of the female. An original tail exhibits uniform pigmentation along its entire length, whereas a regenerated tail does but is characterized by a dark-gray coloration with the surface densely covered in small scales (Fig. 7 B).

Etymology.

The specific epithet wuzhengjuni is dedicated to Professor Zheng-Jun Wu in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the study of Lacertilia. The proposed common names for this species are “ Wu’s Gekko ” in English and “ 武氏壁虎 ” (wǔ shì bì hǔ) in Chinese.

Comparisons.

Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that Gekko wuzhengjuni sp. nov. is the sister taxon to G. fengshanensis, and together they form a clade with G. kwangsiensis, with which it also shares morphological similarities. Morphological comparisons and quantitative analyses elucidate their distinctions (Table 1), as well as by having fewer gular scales bordering the postmentals (2 / 3 vs. 3–6), fewer dorsal tubercle rows at midbody (8 / 9 vs. 8–11), fewer scales in a longitudinal line from the mental scale to the anterior margin of the cloacal slit (181–195 vs. 197–213), and fewer scale rows at midbody (140–143 vs. 149–161). The new species is distinguished from G. kwangsiensis by exhibiting fewer interorbital scales (21–29 vs. 29–31), fewer gular scales bordering the postmentals (2 / 3 vs. 4–6), fewer dorsal tubercle rows at midbody (8 / 9 vs. 9–11), and fewer scale rows at midbody (140–143 vs. 143–156).

In comparison to its congeners, G. wuzhengjuni sp. nov. is distinguishable from the following 13 species by the presence of dorsolateral tubercles on the trunk, which are absent in the following species: Gekko aaronbaueri, G. bonkowskii, G. cib, G. guishanicus, G. khunkhamensis, G. melli, G. nadenensis, G. scientiadventura, G. sengchanthavongi, G. subpalmatus, G. tawaensis, G. thakhekensis, and G. truongi. Furthermore, G. wuzhengjuni sp. nov. is differentiated from the following 13 species by possessing 10 precloacal pores in males, in contrast to the pore counts in these species: Gekko adleri (17–21), G. alpinus (4–7), G. canhi (5), G. chinensis (17–27), G. jinjiangensis (4 / 5), G. palmatus (23–30), G. shibatai (0), G. similignum (17), G. taibaiensis (4–6), G. vertebralis (0), G. vietnamensis (0), G. wenxianensis (6–8), and G. yakuensi (6–8). Additionally, it is distinct from G. kaiyai by the absence of tubercles on the limbs (as opposed to their presence); from G. hokouensis by exhibiting a greater number of midbody scale rows (140–143 vs. 119–130); and from G. auriverrucosus and G. scabridus by having fewer dorsal tubercle rows (8–9 vs. 16–20 and 17–21, respectively). When compared to G. ichangensis, G. japonicus, and G. swinhonis, G. wuzhengjuni sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of a single postcloacal tubercle (vs. 3, 2–4, and 2 or 3, respectively).

Distribution and ecology.

To date, Gekko wuzhengjuni sp. nov. is exclusively documented from Yongfu County, Guilin City, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. All recorded specimens were collected at elevations of 321 m in areas with dense arboreal vegetation. The species is nocturnal and was frequently observed on limestone surfaces near roadside slopes or around limestone accumulations at cave entrances (Fig. 8).