Indonesia's BRIN announces discovery of new gecko species in East Java

JAKARTA, 19 March (BelTA - ANTARA) - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has identified and described a new species of the bow-fingered gecko genus (Cyrtodactylus) from East Java, naming it Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun.

BRIN's Biosystematics and Evolution Research Centre researcher Awal Riyanto stated that the species inhabits urban environments, including embankments, bridges, roof tile piles, and gardens.

"The researchers are keen to introduce Indonesia's culinary diversity through science as we did while describing the Cyrtodactylus papeda from Obi Island (North Maluku) and Cyrtodactylus tehetehe from Derawan Islands (East Kalimantan)," Riyanto stated on Tuesday in connection with the species' name origin.

Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun is inspired by "pecel madiun," a well-known Javanese salad with peanut sauce originating from Madiun in East Java.

He explained that the newly identified species morphologically has brown and blackish skin. A male Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun has a snout-vent length of up to 67.2 mm, while its female is up to 59 mm.

The species has 18 to 20 irregular rows of dorsal tubercles in the central part of its body, 26 to 28 tubercular rows between its armpit and groin, and 28 to 34 rows of abdominal scales.

"We observe that Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun tends to be a generalist species in its habitat choice. The species is found no higher than 40 cm above the ground in various environs close to human activities," Riyanto remarked.

The researcher explained that the species is related to Cyrtodactylus petani, with a genetic distance of 0.1 to 1.6 percent, adding that it became the second evidence of the presence of the darmandvillei group in Java after Cyrtodactylus petani, which is abundant in the Lesser Sunda region.

He remarked that in general, the Cyrtodactylus genus in Java is categorized into two main groups: darmandvillei and marmoratus.

"This discovery encourages us to further our exploration to reveal the hidden diversity of Cyrtodactylus in Java as there are many species yet to be identified thoroughly," Riyanto remarked.

The marbled bow-fingered gecko (Cyrtodactylus marmoratus) was initially described by Gray in 1831 based on a specimen collected by Heinrich Kuhl and Johan Conrad van Hasselt, now housed at the Naturalis Biodiversity Museum in Leiden, the Netherlands.

The research report was published in the January 16, 2025, issue of the Zootaxa journal, providing a significant reference for taxonomy studies and biodiversity conservation in Indonesia.