National Museums of Kenya, Herpetology Section, Museum Hill Road, P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya .
Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA. .
Zootaxa. 2022 May 25;5141(2):101-139. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5141.2.1.
The genus Cnemaspis as presently construed is polyphyletic, with African, South Asian and Southeast Asian clades each representing independent lineages. The name Ancylodactylus Mller, 1907 is available for the African clade of forest geckos and features previously identified as putatively diagnostic of this group (loss or reduction of the second phalanx of digit IV of manus and pes, as well as a markedly dilated basal portions of the digits) are here regarded as characters supporting the monophyly of Ancylodactylus. Six new species of Ancylodactylus are described: A. kenyaensis sp. nov., A. kituiensis sp. nov., A. mathewsensis sp. nov., A. laikipiensis sp. nov., A. spawlsi sp. nov., and A. chyuluensis sp. nov. on the basis of unique combinations of body size, trunk and tail tubercles, median subcaudal scales, precloacal pores, enlarged subdigital plates, ventral color, and throat color and patterning. Ancylodactylus kenyaensis is among the largest members of the genus, reaching 65 mm SVL, whereas A. spawlsi and A. chyuluensis, with maximum SVLs of 30 mm or less, are the smallest of all members of the genus. All these geckos are chiefly scansorial, occurring on tree trunks, fallen logs and/or in rock outcrops. Ancylodactylus kituiensis and A. mathewsensis occur in isolated dryland hilltop forests surrounded by large tracts of arid lands and are locally abundant in suitable rock outcrops or caves, where they occur in small colonies. Ancylodactylus kenyaensis is a montane forest species found on tree trunks with cracks and crevices, whereas A. spawlsi is a montane forest species found in crevices and beneath loose bark of tree trunks as well as in rock crevices and slabs. Ancylodactylus laikipiensis is likewise both rupicolous and arboreal and A. chyuluensis has been taken only from a pitfall trap in a dry forest patch. All the new species are endemic to relatively small, circumscribed areas within Kenya and all occur within protected areas. At present we consider their IUCN conservation status to be Data Deficient. Herpetological surveys are recommended in other unexplored or under-explored forest areas, particularly hilltop montane forests in isolated dryland rocky hills as these may harbor other undescribed Ancylodactylus species or previously undocumented populations of known species.
目前所构建的平尾虎属是多系的，其中非洲、南亚和东南亚支系各自代表独立的谱系。 Muller 于 1907 年命名的Ancylodactylus 可用于指代非洲森林壁虎的支系，并且之前被认为是该组的推定诊断特征（第二指的第二指节缺失或减少，以及指的基部明显扩张）被认为是支持Ancylodactylus 单系性的特征。根据身体大小、躯干和尾巴结节、中线尾下鳞、泄殖腔孔、增大的亚末指板、腹侧颜色、喉部颜色和图案的独特组合，描述了六个新的Ancylodactylus 物种：A. kenyaensis sp. nov.、A. kituiensis sp. nov.、A. mathewsensis sp. nov.、A. laikipiensis sp. nov.、A. spawlsi sp. nov. 和 A. chyuluensis sp. nov.。Ancylodactylus kenyaensis 是该属中最大的成员之一，达到 65 毫米 SVL，而 A. spawlsi 和 A. chyuluensis 的最大 SVL 不超过 30 毫米，是该属中最小的成员。所有这些壁虎主要都是树栖的，栖息在树干、倒下的原木和/或岩石露头处。Ancylodactylus kituiensis 和 A. mathewsensis 出现在被大片干旱土地包围的孤立旱地山顶森林中，并且在适宜的岩石露头或洞穴中大量存在，在那里它们形成小群体。Ancylodactylus kenyaensis 是一种山地森林物种，生活在树干上有裂缝和缝隙的地方，而 A. spawlsi 是一种山地森林物种，生活在树干裂缝和树皮下以及岩石裂缝和石板下。Ancylodactylus laikipiensis 同样是树栖和岩石栖的，而 A. chyuluensis 仅从干燥森林斑块的陷阱中捕获。所有新物种都局限于肯尼亚相对较小的范围内，并且都在保护区内。目前，我们认为它们的 IUCN 保护状况为数据不足。建议在其他未探索或探索不足的森林地区进行爬行动物调查，特别是孤立干旱多岩石丘陵的山顶山地森林，因为这些地区可能栖息着其他未描述的 Ancylodactylus 物种或已知物种的未记录种群。
