A new species of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the northern versant of New Guinea’s Central Cordillera

Abstract

We describe a new species in the Cyrtodactylus loriae group from the northern versant of New Guinea’s Central Cordillera in far western Papua New Guinea. Cyrtodactylus hutchinsoni sp. nov. can be distinguished from related taxa by its large size, absence of serrate tubercles on the tail and ventrolateral fold, and further aspects of scalation and colouration. Genetic data suggest the new species is closely allied to C. serratus from the southern versant of the Central Cordillera of New Guinea, providing a potential example of a species pair isolated by Pliocene uplift of these mountains. The recognised diversity of Cyrtodactylus from New Guinea and other islands east of Lydekker’s Line now stands at 30 species, of which 22 have been described in the last 20 years.