Gekko luanchuanensis Zhang, Jiang, Huang & Wu 2026, sp. nov.

Gekko luanchuanensis Zhang, Jiang, Huang & Wu sp. nov. Type material. • Holotype HSR 25011, adult male, from County Luanchuan, Henan Province, China (33°78'N, 111°61'E; 782 m asl.), Yixue Zhang leg., 22 August 2025. • Paratypes (n = 2, all from Henan Province, China), 2 paratype specimens, subadult female (HSR 25010), juvenile female (HSR 25012), same data as holotype, except 22–23 August 2025. Type localities of congeners. Gekko swinhonis, Pekin (Beijing), China (Boulenger 1885); G. japonicus, Japan; G. kaiyai, Liankang Mountain National Nature Reserve, Xinyang City, Henan Province, China; G. auriverrucosus, Hejin (Hojin) Prefecture, Shanxi Province, China; G. adleri, karst forest near Ban Coong Village, in Duc Quang Commune, Ha Lang District, Cao Bang Province, northern Vietnam; G. cib, wall surface in the Herpetological Museum, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China; G. chinensis, China (probably Hongkong); G. hokouensis, Yanshan City, Jiangxi Province, China; G. kwangsiensis, Wuming County, Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China; G. melli, northeastern Guangdung Province, China; G. palmatus, Man-son Mountains, Tonking, northern Vietnam; G. similignum, Five Finger Mountain, Anmao City, Hainan Province, China; G. subpalmatus, China (probably Honkong); G. wenxianensis, Danbao Village on the south slope of the west Qinling Mts, Wenxian County, Gansu Province, China; G. fengshanensis, Fenghuang Village, Fengcheng Town, Fengshan County, Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China; G. alpinus, Zhubalong Village, Batang County, Ganzi Zang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China; G. jinjiangensis, Benzilan Town, Deqin County, Yunnan Province, China; G. paucituberculatus, Tianyang District, Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China; G. liboensis, Chengguan (Chengkwang), Libo Prefecture, Guizhou, southern China; G. scabridus, Yongren (Yongzen) Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China; G. taibaiensis, Taibai County, Shaanxi Province, China; G. tesselatus, Se’ergu Town, Heishui County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China; G. ichangensis, Muqiao Creek Village, Gaojiayan Town, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, Yichang City, Hubei Province, China; G. prep, Hainan Province, China; G. guishanicus, Guishan Isle, Toucheng Township, Yilan County, northeast Taiwan, China; G. liui, Dazhou Island, Wanning City, Hainan Province, China; G. mosaicus, Longtan Town, Yuanjiang Hani, Yi and Dai Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, China (Uetz et al. 2026). Etymology. The specific name is a Latinized adjective meaning “ originating from Luanchuan ”, which refers to the county where the type locality is located. For common names, we recommend using “ Luanchuan Gecko ” (English) and “ 栾川壁虎 (luán chuān bì hǔ) ” (Chinese). Diagnosis. Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from other Japonigekko species by the following combination of characteristics: (1) body size moderate (SVL of 46.52 mm in adult males); (2) nares connected to the rostrals; (3) interorbital 23–25; (4) tubercles small and sparse, and dorsal tubercles not in rows at midbody; (5) 141–157 scales in a line from mental to the front of cloacal slit; (6) 35–37 ventral scale rows; (7) limbs without tubercles; (8) webbing absent; (9) subdigital lamellae 9–11 on finger I, 10–14 on finger IV, 9–10 on toe I, and 9–13 on toe IV; (10) 6–8 precloacal pores; (11) two postcloacal tubercles on each side; (12) 6–8 dark-gray stripes on back extending from neck to tail base. Description of the holotype (Figs 3, 4). Adult male, medium-sized, SVL 46.52 mm; Tal 54.79 mm; head length greater than head width, HL / HW ratio 1.246; neck distinct; rostral scale enlarged, pentagonal; nostril elliptical, in contact with the rostral and the first supralabial; supralabials 10 / 11 (left / right); preoculars 14 / 15 (left / right); interorbitals 23; head scales gradually decreasing in size from snout to neck; dorsal head without tubercles; pupil vertical, featuring crenulated edges; ear opening elliptical; mental pentagonal, wider than long; two postmentals, hexagonal, longer than wide, in contact with first infralabial; infralabials 8 / 8 (left / right); seventh infralabial on the left side formed by incomplete fusion of three scales, and the eighth infralabial on the right side formed by incomplete fusion of two scales, both counted as a single scale. Body flattened; dorsal scales round, granular, tightly packed; dorsal tubercles very few, nearly elliptical convexities, slightly larger than dorsal scales, no rows of tubercles on back; ventrolateral fold distinct, without tubercles; belly milky yellow; 153 ventral midline scales; ventrals relatively large, fish-scale-like, imbricate, gradually becoming smaller and round or hexagonal in the gular region; precloacal scales enlarged, precloacal pores 8, arranged in an arc. Limbs slender, without tubercles; granular scales on limbs slightly larger than those on dorsal, round and granular, juxtaposed; scales on palms and soles to digits transitioning from round, granular, and juxtaposed to flattened and imbricate distally; tips of digits dilated, claws absent on the first finger and first toe, present on remaining digits; webbing absent. Subdigital lamellae undivided, left manus 10–9 – 11 – 11 – 10, right manus 10–9 – 11 – 11 – 10; left pes 10–9 – 11 – 9 – 10, right pes 9–10 – 10 – 9 – 9. Relative finger length: IV> III> V> II> I; relative toe length: IV> III> V> II> I. Tail base distinctly swollen; postcloacal tubercles 2 / 2, large, conical; tail gradually tapering from the swollen base, elliptical in cross-section. Dorsal caudal scales granular, slightly larger than dorsal scales, arranged in annular rows; tubercles absent on tail. Ventral scales at tail base granular, fan-shaped, imbricate, transitioning posteriorly into enlarged, smooth, imbricate subcaudal plates. Coloration of the holotype in life (Figs 3, 4). In life, dorsal ground color of head and body light brown; dorsal head with dense, dark-brown markings; posterior portion of snout with a dark-brown, transverse streak across it, extending from mid-level between anterior margin of orbit and nostril, passing through eye, and connecting to anterior margin of ear opening; upper labial margin with light-brown suffused blotches; corner of mouth with a few brown spots. Vertical pupil black, featuring crenulated edges; iris yellowish brown, with reticulated pattern. Junction of head and neck with a W-shaped dark-brown marking; dorsum with 7 grayish-brown stripes along vertebral line from neck to tail base, posterior margins dark gray; irregular grayish-brown blotches on both sides of dorsum, interspersed with a few small black spots; limbs with grayish-brown stripes. Tail with 10 brownish-yellow rings from base, margins dark gray, rings gradually widening toward tail tip. Ventral surface of body yellowish white; ventral surface of tail with black spots appearing posteriorly from mid-section. Comparisons. To minimize the influence of age on morphometric data, juveniles were excluded from the morphological analyses (Wotherspoon and Burgin 2011). Morphological data are presented in Table 3. The morphological data of G. luanchuanensis sp. nov. were compared with G. swinhonis, and they can be distinguished by the following characteristics (1) smoother body surface with fewer tubercles, and dorsal tubercles not in rows at midbody (Fig. 5) (vs G. swinhonis has more tubercles on the body surface, with 6–9 rows of tubercles on the dorsal); (2) 23–25 interorbitals (vs 20–23); (3) relative length of toes: IV> III> V> II> I (vs IV> V> III> II> I). The results of the morphometric ANCOVA are shown in Table 4, indicating significant differences between G. luanchuanensis sp. nov. from Luanchuan County and G. swinhonis from Anhui Province in HL, FIL (R), and HIL (L / R). Phylogenetic analyses recovered G. luanchuanensis sp. nov. in close association with G. auriverrucosus, G. cib, G. melli, and G. subpalmatus. However, the new species can be distinguished from these species by several morphological characters. Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. auriverrucosus by (1) interorbitals (23–25 vs 26–27); (2) dorsal tubercles (0 vs 16–20); (3) subdigital lamellae under entire first finger (9–10 vs 6–8); (4) subdigital lamellae under entire fourth finger (9–13 vs 6–8); (5) no tubercles present on limbs and tail. Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. cib by (1) interorbitals (23–25 vs 28–36); (2) scales in a line from mental to the front of cloacal slit (141–157 vs 171–196); (3) webbing absent. Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. melli by (1) smaller body size; (2) interorbitals (23–25 vs 34–40); (3) scales in a line from mental to the front of cloacal slit (141–157 vs 171–192); (4) ventral scales at midbody from one ventrolateral fold to the other (35–37 vs 44–46); (5) webbing absent; (6) precloacal pores (6–8 vs 9–11). Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. subpalmatus by (1) interorbitals (23–25 vs 28–37); (2) ventral scales at midbody from one ventrolateral fold to the other (35–37 vs 39–46); (3) webbing absent. This species can be distinctly distinguished from other species of Japonigekko through a series of unique characteristics. The differences between the new species and other Japonigekko members distributed in China are shown in Table 5. Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. japonicus, G. adleri, G. chinensis, G. hokouensis, G. kwangsiensis, G. palmatus, G. similignum, G. liboensis, G. paucituberculatus, G. scabridus, G. taibaiensis and G. liui by interorbitals 23–25. Gekko luanchuanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. kaiyai, G. wenxianensis, G. alpinus, G. jinjiangensis, G. fengshanensis, G. tesselatus, G. ichangensis, G. prep and G. mosaicus by dorsal tubercle not rows