Integrative taxonomic approaches revealed a new species of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Gia Lai Province, Central Highlands of Vietnam

Cyrtodactylus ayunpaensis sp. nov. from Ayun Pa town, Gia Lai Province, Central Highlands Vietnam is described based on an integrative taxonomic method by a combination of morphological and genetic data. It is placed into the C. irregularis group and can be distinguished from the remaining species from Vietnam by a minimum genetic distance of 12.8% in the ND2 gene and by the following characters: a maximum SVL of 91.5 mm; supralabials 11–13; infralabials 9–10; dorsal tubercles at midbody in 4–6 irregular rows; ventral scales 52–68; subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe 17–19; precloacal and femoral pores absent in both sexces; enlarged precloacal scales 22–27 in males and absent in females; 7–11 enlarged femoral scales from each thigh; subcaudals transversely enlarged; small, irregularly shaped dark brown blotches on top of head; nuchal band thin and interrupted; dorsal pattern with four irregularly shaped bands; short stripes on the neck.

The morphological distinctiveness of the new species is supported by its non-overlapping position in multivariate space based on multiple factor analysis and principal component analysis.