Cyrtodactylus pubisulcus
—
Inger’s Bent-toed Gecko
Also known as:
Inger’s Bow-fingered Gecko
If I had seen this gecko in Peninsular Malaysia, I would have been confident that it was Cyrtodactylus quadrivirgatus. That species was formerly considered to be present in Borneo as well as in Peninsular Malaysia, but a recent study concluded that C. quadrivirgatus is not present in Borneo.
My Travelogues and Trip Lists page includes a complete list of the herps I saw in the wild on this trip to Malaysia, as well as a travelogue of the trip.
These two have such different overall appearance that I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be different species, but as far as I have been able to tell they are just "dark phase" and "light phase" C. pubisulcus.
Last year at Kubah I didn't see any small Cyrtodactylus at all, only the significantly larger Cyrtodactylus consobrinus. This year I saw a number of the little ones. Currently C. pubisulcus is the only small Cyrtodactylus recognized from this area.
Some of these small Cyrtodactylus in Sarawak were formerly considered to be C. quadrivirgatus, but that species is now considered to be confined to Peninsular Malaysia.
Here's a very similar-looking individual from nearby Gunung Gading.
Online references:
- Cyrtodactylus pubisulcus account on The Reptile Database
- Hayden R. Davis, Indraneil Das, Adam D. Leaché, Benjamin R. Karin, Ian G. Brennan, Todd R. Jackman, Izneil Nashriq, Kin Onn Chan, Aaron M. Bauer, 2021. Genetically diverse yet morphologically conserved: Hidden diversity revealed among Bornean geckos (Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus)
Printed references:
- Das, I. 2010. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-east Asia
- Das, I. 2004. Lizards of Borneo