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Publications (106)
Karst habitats are hotspots of diversity and endemism. Their naturally fragmented distributions across broad geographic landscapes have led to the complex array of smaller evolutionary ecosystems that present unique challenges from a conservation perspective. Comprehensive biodiversity assessments of karst habitats have revealed that these ecosyste...
Depending on the presence and activities of the front-end fatty acyl desaturases and elongation of very long-chain fatty acid (Elovl) enzymes, animals have different capacities for long-chain (≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) biosynthesis. Successful land colonisation in brachyuran crabs requires a shift towards terrestrial food chain wi...
The gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus is the third largest vertebrate genus on the planet with well over 300 species that range across at least eight biogeographic regions from South Asia to Melanesia. The ecological and morphological plasticity within the genus, has contributed to its ability to disperse across ephemeral seaways, river systems, basins,...
Phylogenetic and multivariate analyses of Gekko smithii Gray, 1842 recover a new species Gekko hulk from Peninsular Malaysia and support the resurrection of G. albomaculatus (Giebel, 1861)
The COVID-19 pandemic and political turmoil in Myanmar has dealt a severe blow to the country’s progress in herpetological research and the protection of limestone habitats. Both afflictions have reversed much of the scientific and conservation gains made in the past decade, and continue to hinder exploratory surveys and continued monitoring of thr...
Conservation status of Varanus rudicollis
Conservation status of Varanus dumerilii
available at https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/178214/113138439
A new species of the gekkonid genus Hemiphyllodactylus is described from forested karst hills near Zhutangxiang town, Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan, China. Hemiphyllodactylus zhutangxiangensis sp. nov. is distinguished from all other congeners in morphology and an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of greater than 14% based on 1039 b...
Zootaxa is a mega-journal that since its inception, 20 years ago, has contributed to the documentation of the planet’s biodiversity. Its role concerning terrestrial vertebrates has been crucial especially for amphibians, which are the most threatened class of vertebrates. As current editors of the Amphibia section, we reviewed the state of knowledg...
Batu Hampar Recreational Forest (BHRF) is a lowland dipterocarp forest located in the northwestern region of Peninsular Malaysia and has not been surveyed for its herpetofauna until now. A preliminary survey of the herpetofaunal diversity of BHRF was conducted from September 2018 to February 2019 resulting in 103 individuals (37 species) of amphibi...
Karstic landscapes are immense reservoirs of biodiversity and range-restricted endemism. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world’s third-largest vertebrate genus Cyrtodactylus (Gekkonidae) which contains well over 300 species. A stochastic character mapping analysis of 10 different habitat preferences across a phylogeny containing 345 descri...
The taxonomic status of Asthenodipsas vertebralis in Borneo has been plagued with uncertainty over the last eighty years. An examination of museum collections resulted in the discovery of a voucher specimen of A. vertebralis from Sarawak, East Malaysia that confirms the presence of the species in Borneo and a previously unrecognised species, Asthen...
The gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus is the third most speciose vertebrate genus in the world, containing well over 300 species that collectively range from South Asia to Melanesia across some of the most diverse landscapes and imperiled habitats on the planet. A genus-wide phylogeny of the group has never been presented because researchers working on...
The gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus is the third most speciose vertebrate genus in the world, containing well over 300 species that collectively range from South Asia to Melanesia across some of the most diverse landscapes and imperiled habitats on the planet. A genus-wide phylogeny of the group has never been presented because researchers working on...
The taxonomic status of the ranid frog Abavorana luctuosa (Peters, 1871) was investigated using a combination of molecular and morphological data. The analyses revealed that A. luctuosa sensu lato is composed of two species in Borneo. One of these species agrees with the description of Rana decorata Mocquard, 1890 which is resurrected in the combin...
Lizards and snakes (squamates) are known for their varied sex determining systems, and gecko lizards are especially diverse, having evolved sex chromosomes independently multiple times. While sex chromosomes frequently turnover among gecko genera, intrageneric turnovers are known only from Gekko and Hemidactylus. Here, we used RADseq to identify se...
Understanding the processes that underpin adaptive evolutionary shifts within major taxonomic groups has long been a research directive among many evolutionary biologists. Such phenomena are best studied in large monophyletic groups that occupy a broad range of habitats where repeated exposure to novel ecological opportunities
has happened independ...
A new species of Acroeimeria Paperna & Landsberg, 1989 is described from the spotted house gecko, Gekko monarchus (Schlegel) from Peninsular Malaysia. Oöcysts of Acroeimeria grismeri n. sp. are spheroidal to subspheroidal with a smooth bi-layered wall, measure on average 18.4 × 17.3 µm, and have a length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.1; a micropyle and an...
A new, diminutive species of Rock Gecko Cnemaspis tubaensis sp. nov. of the C. kumpoli group, is described from Tuba Island, Langkawi Archipelago, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia and is differentiated from all other species in the kumpoli group by having a unique combination of morphological and color pattern characteristics, including a maximum SVL of...
Liopeltis is a genus of poorly known, infrequently sampled species of colubrid snakes in tropical Asia. We collected a specimen of Liopeltis from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia, that superficially resembled L. philippina, a rare species that is endemic to the Palawan Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complex, western Philippines. We analyzed morpholo...
An integrative taxonomic analysis based on morphology, color pattern, and the mitochondrial gene ND2 recovered four new species of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker that are endemic to the Shan Plateau or Salween Basin in eastern Myanmar. Hemiphyllodactylus ngwelwini sp. nov. from the Shan Plateau is part of the earlier described “eastern Myanmar clade” r...
The first molecular phylogeny for mountain reed snakes (genus Macrocalamus) based on the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b is not entirely consistent with the previous taxonomy based on morphology and colour pattern. Macrocalamus chanardi is shown to be a species complex composed of three different allopatric lineages distributed across different upl...
Fifty-eight percent of the 43 known species of the Bent-toed Geckos ( Cyrtodactylus ) from Myanmar are found only in karstic habitats in the Shan Plateau and Salween and Ayeyarwady basins. A stochastic character mapping analysis indicated that the occupation of karstic habitats evolved at least four times independently in Burmese lineages with both...
A reappraisal of the taxonomic status of the Dark-necked Slug Snake (Asthenodipsas malaccana Peters, 1864) across its range revealed that populations from Borneo are not conspecific with true A. malaccana from the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, and is therefore described herein as new. Asthenodipsas borneensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from...
The historical accuracy of building taxonomies is improved when they are based on phylogenetic inference (i.e., the resultant classifications are less apt to misrepresent evolutionary history). In fact, taxonomies inferred from statistically significant diagnostic morphological characters in the absence of phylogenetic considerations, can contain n...
An integrative taxonomic analysis of the 10 species of the Cyrtodactylus sinyineensis group based on squamation, color pattern, and the mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) and its flanking tRNA regions, recovered the newly discovered populations from Datt Kyaik and Taung Wine Hills in Kayin State as the new species Cyrtodactylus d...
Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the sister species Sphenomorphus stellatus and S. praesignis based on the mitochondrial genes 12S and 16S rRNA recover the former as paraphyletic with respect to the latter in that a specimen of S. stellatus from the type locality in Peninsular Malaysia is more closely related to S. praesignis than to Indochinese...
A new species of limestone karst-adapted gecko of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex, C. dayangbuntingensis sp. nov., is described from Dayang Bunting Island of the Langkawi Archipelago off the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the third species of the group to be described from the archipelago after C. langkawiensis and C. macrotuber...
A new species of Ansonia is described from the Shan Plateau of Myanmar based on an integrative taxonomic analysis that differentiates it from all other congeners. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial genes 12S and 16S rRNA and tRNA-val recover A. kyaiktiyoensis sp. nov. as the sister species to A. inthanon from Thailand but di...
A review of the taxonomic status of the Smooth Slug Snake (Asthenodipsas laevis) in Borneo resulted in the discovery of two previously unrecognised species from the highlands of Sabah, East Malaysia. Asthenodipsas jamilinaisi sp. nov. and A. stuebingi sp. nov. are presumed to be closely related to A. laevis based on similarities in pholidosis and p...
An integrative taxonomic analysis of the Ptychozoon lionotum group across its range in Indochina and Sundaland recovers P. lionotum sensu lato Annandale, 1905 as paraphyletic with respect to P. popaense Grismer, Wood, Thura, Grismer, Brown, & Stuart, 2018a and composed of four allopatric, genetically divergent, ND2 mitochondrial lineages. Multivari...
An integrative taxonomic analysis of the Cyrtodactylus linnwayensis group of the Shan Plateau recovered two new populations from isolated karst habitats near Pinlaung Town, Shan State as a new species, C. pinlaungensis sp. nov. Cyrtodactylus pinlaungensis sp. nov. is most closely related to a clade comprising C. linnwayensis and C. ywanganensis fro...
A herpetological survey of the Indawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary in Kachin State, Myanmar resulted in the discovery of a new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray along the eastern watershed of the Mokso Mountains. An integrative taxonomic analysis based on the mitochondrial ND2 gene, morphology, and color pattern recovered this new species, Cyrtodactylus momber...
An integrative taxonomic analysis of Subdoluseps herberti from southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia and S. samajaya from Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo) recovers the former as paraphyletic with respect to the latter. The analyses recover the three southernmost populations of S. herberti in Peninsular Malaysia as conspecific and the sister line...
Two new species of Bent-toed Geckos of the Cyrtodactylus peguensis group are described from foothill areas occurring on opposite sides of the Ayeyarwady Basin. Cyrtodactylus nyinyikyawi sp. nov. from the Shwe Settaw Wildlife Sanctuary, Magway Region in the east and C. pyadalinensis sp. nov. from the Panluang-Pyadalin Wildlife Sanctuary, Shan State...
A new species of crocodile newt from populations on opposite sides of the Ayeyarwady Basin, Myanmar, previously referred to as Tylototriton cf. verrucosus, is described on the basis of colour pattern, morphology and phylogenetic data from the mitochondrial gene ND2. Tylototriton panwaensis sp. nov. is most closely related to T. verrucosus + T. shan...
Trimeresurus nebularis is a montane pit viper that causes bites and envenomation to various communities in the central highland region of Malaysia, in particular Cameron’s Highlands. To unravel the venom composition of this species, the venom proteins were digested by trypsin and subjected to nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-...
Since the book-formatted, monographic treatment of the lizards of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and their adjacent islands by Grismer (2011), 47 additional species have been added to that fauna bringing the total to 174. One species, Cyrtodactylus stresemanni, was removed from the lizard fauna based on its likely mislabeled type locality; 44 spec...
The karstic foothills and hilly western edge of the Shan Plateau of eastern Myanmar continue to be sources of discovery for new species of the gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus. Two new karst-associated species within this unique landscape from Mandalay Region—C. aunglini sp. nov. from the Kyauk Nagar Cave and C. myaleiktaung sp. nov. from Mya Leik Taun...
Red List Data/ Conservation Status for Sphenomorphus scotophilus
Red List Data/ Conservation Status for Sphenomorphus tersus
Red List Data/ Conservation Status for Cnemaspis chanardi
Red List Data/ Conservation Status for Cyrtodactylus astrum
Red List Data/ Conservation Status for Cyrtodactylus quadrivirgatus
The taxonomic position of the rare Selangor Mud Snake (Raclitia indica) Gray to other species of homalopsids has remained uncertain due to the scarcity of specimens in collections and the lack of genetic material for comparison. Here we report the first molecular phylogenetic examination of this species based on recently acquired material. The stud...
The Asian giant toad, Phrynoidis aspera, research is faced mainly with twin challenges of conservation and efficient sampling techniques for research purposes. This research is therefore conducted to assess the co-integration feature of the capture–recapture methods and to evaluate both long- and short-term effect of capture on the recapture of P....
A phylogenetic taxonomic analysis of a monophyletic subgroup of the salamandrid genus Tylototriton revealed that a newly discovered population from Ngar Su Village, 1 km south of Ywangan, Shan State, Myanmar is a new species and most closely related to T. shanorum from approximately 80 km to the west in the vicinity of Taunggyi, Shan State. Tylotot...
Limestone karst-formations are found throughout Southeast Asia and are known to harbor high levels of endemic biodiversity. This study records 44 species of amphibians and reptiles (17 species of lizards, 21 species of frogs, and six species of snakes) from two karst towers and their surrounding limestone forest in a lowland locality at Hutan Lipur...
Zootaxa 4483 (2): 295-316 Abstract An integrative phylogenetic analysis recovers two new species of the gekkonid genus Hemiphyllodactylus (Bleeker) from the Shan Hills of eastern Myanmar. Hemiphyllodactylus ywanganensis sp. nov. and H. uga sp. nov. are nested within the eastern Myanmar clade of a previous genus-wide phylogenetic analysis and form a...
A phylogenetic taxonomy of species in the Cyrtodactylus peguensis group from the Ayeyarwady Basin of Myanmar is constructed based on color pattern, morphology, and molecular systematic analyses using the mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2. Newly collected samples from the type locality of C. peguensis and other localities indicate that...
Raw data for statistics.
Data file used for all statistical analyses in R.
Nexus file.
Nexus file of raw data for the phylogenetic analyses.
The Asiatic coral snakes are basal in the phylogeny of coral snakes. Although envenoming by the Asiatic coral snakes is rarely fatal, little is known about their venom properties and variability from the American coral snakes. Integrating reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, w...
A phylogenetic taxonomic analysis indicates that a newly discovered population of Cyrtodactylus from the vicinity of Ywangan Town in the Shan Hills, Shan State, Myanmar is a new species (C. ywanganensis sp. nov.) and the earliest diverging member of the linnwayensis group within the previously defined Indochinese clade. The DIVALIKE+J model of a Bi...
An integrative taxonomic analysis reveals a remarkable degree of cryptic speciation between sympatric, specialized, leaf-litter species in an upland clade of the scincid genus Tytthoscincus across the sky-island archipelago of Peninsular Malaysia. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood phylogenies based on the mitochondrial gene ND2 indicate tha...
The family Xenophidiidae is an extremely rare and little-known family of snakes that contains only two species, Xenophidion acanthognathus Günther & Manthey and X. schaeferi Günther & Manthey that are each known only from their holotypes. We report on the rediscovery of X. schaeferi from two new locations in southern Peninsular Malaysia. The new sp...
A reassessment of the taxonomy of Lygosoma bampfyldei based on morphology and color pattern indicates that it is a species complex containing L. bampfyldei Bartlett, 1895 from the Rajang River, Sarawak and Croker Range, Sabah in East Malaysia; L. peninsulare sp. nov. from Bukit Larut, Perak and 13.5 km east of Jeli, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia; L...
Two new species of diminutive, sympatric, lowland, leaf-litter skinks of the genus Tytthoscincus Linkem, Diesmos & Brown from the Sekayu region of Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu State in northeastern Peninsular Malaysia are described on the basis genetic and morphological data. One of the new species, T. monticolus sp. nov., was collected in a hilly r...
An integrative phylogenetic taxonomic analysis recovers three additional new species of karst-associated Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) – C. bayinnyiensis sp. nov., C. chaunghanakwaensis sp. nov. and C. naungkayaingensis sp. nov. – from a narrow zone in the Salween Basin of Kayin and Mon states in eastern Myanmar from which nine new spec...
The Tuberculate Bent-toed Gecko Cyrtodactylus macrotuberculatus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) was listed as Least Concern on the basis that this species is known from nine localities across an area of approximately 15,000 km2 in southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia, within which it is relatively common, and there are no confirmed threats. While it is...
Twelve new karst-adapted species of the gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus Gray are described from the Shan Hills and Salween River Basin of Myanmar. Three species occur in rocky habitats along karst ridges and nine species are micro-endemics restricted to isolated karst caves and towers. This high, localized diversity underscores the archipelago-like na...
The recently erected ranid genus Abavorana is thought to contain one nominal species, A. luctuosa, that ranges from the Thai-Malay Peninsula to Borneo and Sumatra. A melanistic form from Gunung Jerai, Peninsular Malaysia previously thought to be the same species is new to science and herein described based on new specimens and data. Based on morpho...