title: A new species of karst-adapted Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from a threatened karst region in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia.
abstract: A new species of karst-adapted gekkonid lizard of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch is described from Gua Gunting and Gua Goyang in a karst region of Merapoh, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia whose unique limestone formations are in immediate danger of being quarried. The new species differs from all other species of Cnemaspis based on its unique suite of morphological and color pattern characters. Its discovery underscores the unique biodiversity endemic to karst regions and adds to a growing list of karst-adapted reptiles from Peninsular Malaysia. We posit that new karst-adapted species endemic to limestone forests will continue to be discovered and these regions will harbor a significant percentage of Peninsular Malaysia's biodiversity and thusly should be conserved rather than quarried.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California 92515 USA; Email: lgrismer@lasierra.edu.
authors.forename: L Lee
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Grismer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 150 East Bulldog Boulevard, Provo, Utah 84602 USA.; Email: pwood@byu.edu.
authors.forename: Perry L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Nature Society, JKR 641, Jalan Kelantan, Bukit Persekutuan, 50480, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Email: maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Maketab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA; Email: chan@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Kin Onn
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, 92182 USA; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Heinz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California 92515 USA; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Alex S-I
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Sumarli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California 92515 USA; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Jacob A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California 92515 USA; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Ariel I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Loredo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: C088908:NADH dehydrogenase II; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase