Hemiphyllodactylus ziegleri sp. nov. (Squamata, Gekkonidae), a new karst-dwelling gecko species from Son La Province, Vietnam

Based on morphological and molecular analyses, a new species of <i>Hemiphyllodactylus</i> is described from Son La Province, northern Vietnam. <i>Hemiphyllodactylus ziegleri</i> <b>sp. nov</b>. differs from its sister taxon, a paraphyletic <i>H. yunnanensis</i>, and other members of the genus <i>Hemiphyllodactylus</i> by at least 14% in terms of genetic divergence based on a fragment of the ND2 mitochondrial gene and a combination of the following morphological characters: SVL of adult males 38.7-41.9 mm and adult females 47.0-49.3 mm; dorsal scale rows 21-27; ventral scale rows 12-16; chin scales bordering mental and first infralabial distinctly enlarged; digital lamellae formula 3444 (forefoot) and 4555/4 (hindfoot); femoral pores absent; precloacal pores 21-23 in males, absent in females; cloacal spur single, present in both sexes; dorsal trunk pattern yellowish grey; body with a discontinuous light dorsolateral stripe. Our discovery increases the number of species within the genus to 73.