A new species of small Lepidodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Salawati Island, Indonesia

Abstract

We describe a new species of gecko in the Lepidodactylus novaeguineae Group from Salawati Island, West Papua Province, Indonesia. The new species can be distinguished from all congeners by a unique combination of aspects of body size, shape, colouration, and scalation. The holotype and only known specimen is a mature male with a snout-vent length of less than 33 mm, suggesting it is the smallest species of Lepidodactylus; however, to confirm that, larger sample sizes of the nominate species and other species are required. The Lepidodactylus novaeguineae Group has a wide distribution across the western, northern, and eastern margins of New Guinea, but it seems to be most often associated with islands (including land-bridge islands) or geological terranes derived from former island arcs.