Cyrts in the city: A new Bent-toed Gecko (Genus Cyrtodactylus) is the only endemic species of vertebrate from Batu Caves, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia

2014/03/07 by L. Lee Grismer, Perry L. Wood, CHAN KIN ONN +2 · 7 citations
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Cave #Massif #Gecko #Gekkonidae #Biology #Genus #Karst #Ecology #Archaeology #Paleontology #Squamata #Geography

paper · doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3774.4.6

openalex publication_date 2014/03/07 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. from Batu Caves massif, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia is differentiated from all congeners by having a unique suite of morphological and color pattern characteristics. Remarkably, this species has been overlooked despite a plethora of field studies at Batu Caves from 1898 to the present and no specimens had ever been examined until now. As with all other limestone forest-adapted Cyrtodactylus in Peninsular Malaysia, C. metropolis sp. nov. is not a cave-adapted species but is far more common on the exterior surfaces of the Batu Caves limestone massif and its surrounding limestone vegetation. We suggest that researchers devote time exploring the exterior surfaces of limestone massifs as well the interiors of their caves.

Cited by

• Cyrtodactylus wangkulangkulae (Squamata: Gekkonidae), a new Bent-toed Gecko from Satun Province, southern Thailand
• Cyrtodactylus rosichonariefi sp. nov. (Squamata: Gekkonidae), a new swamp-dwelling bent-toed gecko from Bunguran Island (Great Natuna), Indonesia
• Twelve new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from isolated limestone habitats in east-central and southern Myanmar demonstrate high localized diversity and unprecedented microendemism
• <strong>The fourth Bent-toed Gecko of the genus <em>Cyrtodactylus</em> (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Java, Indonesia</strong>
• A new lowland forest Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Ranong Province, peninsular Thailand
• Extinct, obscure or imaginary: The lizard species with the smallest ranges
• Cyrtodactylus [wikipedia]

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