A new species of Lepidodactylus (Gekkonidae) from Misima Island, Papua New Guinea

We describe a new species of gecko in the Lepidodactylus novaeguineae group from Misima Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Lepidodactylus exoris sp. nov. can be distinguished from congeners by aspects of body size, toe shape, scalation and colouration. This discovery provides the first confirmed instance of L. novaeguineae group and L. orientalis group species on the same island, and further emphasises high herpetofaunal endemism in the recently delimited Milne Bay Province Biodiversity Hotspot of far eastern Papua New Guinea.