False-McGuire Rock Gecko

Fig. 36

Holotype. ZRC 2.6777. Type locality: “ Bukit Larut, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia along the road from the Gunung Hijau Rest House to the Telekom Tower (04°51.715 N, 100°47.993 E)” at 1351 m in elevation.

Diagnosis. Maximum SVL 42.5 mm; nine or 10 supralabials; 8–10 infralabials; ventral scales keeled; 1–5 continuous, pore-bearing precloacal scales with round pores; 23–32 paravertebral tubercles; body tubercles randomly arranged, present on flanks; tubercles present in lateral caudal furrows; no ventrolateral caudal tubercles; lateral row of caudal tubercles present anteriorly; caudal tubercles not encircling tail; all subcaudals keeled, no enlarged median scale row; two or three postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base; no enlarged femoral or subtibial scales; subtibials keeled; usually no enlarged submetatarsal scales on first toe; 23–26 subdigital fourth toe lamellae; and two ocelli in the shoulder region in males; vertebral stripe variable (Tables 6,7).

Color pattern in life (Fig. 36). Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs and tail golden brown; top of head bearing small, black and yellow markings; thin, black, postorbital stripe; thin, yellow, postorbital stripes unite on nape and may continue posteriorly to form a wide, vertebral stripe that fades in pelvic region; vertebral stripe variably present, often replaced by white, paravertebral markings edged anteriorly in black; dark markings on nape anterior to yellow stripe; black shoulder patch encloses a larger, upper, posterior white ocellus and smaller, lower, anterior ocellus; single, light, postscapular spot posterior to black shoulder patches; faint, yellow, transverse markings on flanks; faint, dark and dull-yellow reticulum on limbs; tail faintly marked with light-brown and dullyellow bands; all ventral surfaces beige with weak stippling. The color pattern lightens considerably at night and many lizards appear nearly unicolor light-yellow to white.

Distribution. Cnemaspis pseudomcguirei is known from Bukit Larut and Gunung Inas in the Banjaran Bintang Mountains, Perak, in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia (Grismer et al. 2009; Laidlaw 1901; Fig. 3).

Natural history. Grismer (2011a) noted that Cnemaspis pseudomcguirei is an upland species found in hill dipterocarp forests from at least 1,000 –1,300 meters in elevation (Fig. 37). During the day, lizards are found beneath small stones and logs on the forest floor or within rotten logs. Unlike the sympatric species C. mcguirei, C. pseudomcguirei does not occur on large granite boulders and lizards are commonly found great distances (> 1 km) from boulder outcroppings. At Gunung Inas, Laidlaw (1901) reported lizards being numerous “amongst boulders on the course of a small stream” which we believe he confused with the sympatric and similarly appearing C. mcguirei. During the night, C. pseudomcguirei can be found exposed sleeping on the surfaces of leaves 0.5–1.5 m above the ground. Females carrying two eggs have been found during March and October suggesting this species breeds through the rainy season.

Relationships. Cnemaspis pseudomcguirei is part of the basal tritomy of the affinis group (Fig. 2).

Material examined. Malaysia: Perak; Bukit Larut ZRC 2.6777 – 82 (type series). Material examined since Grismer et al. (2009): Malaysia: Perak, Bukit Larut LSUHC 9074, 10640, 10645.