Range Expansion of <i>Acanthosaura longicaudata</i>: First Record in Vietnam and Prediction of Potential Distribution

Maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses using a mitochondrial gene of COI supported the monophyly of Acanthosaura longicaudata, including the holotype from China and Acanthosaura specimens collected in Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces, Vietnam. Genetic divergence (p-distances) between the Vietnamese and Chinese populations of A. longicaudata was relatively high, ranging 3.25 – 4.03%. However, morphological comparisons between them are highly similar. Based on the integrative analyses, we approved the first record of A. longicaudata in Vietnam, which increase the number of recorded species in Vietnam to 11. A Maxent model was employed that predicted the potential distribution of A. longicaudata mainly covering the sites of occurrences and their surroundings in the border areas between Vietnam, China, and Laos.