Two New Species of the Genus Bavayia (Reptilia: Squamata: Diplodactylidae) from New Caledonia, Southwest Pacific!

Two new species of the diplodactylid gecko Bavayia are described from restricted areas within the main island of New Caledonia. Both species are characterized by small size, a single row of preanal pores, and distinctive dorsal color patterns. One species is known only from the endangered sclerophyll forest of the drier west coast of New Caledonia, where it was collected in the largest remaining patch of such habitat on the Pindai" Peninsula. The second species occupies the maquis and adjacent midelevation humid forest habitats in the vicinity of Me Adeo in south-central New Caledonia. Although relationships within the genus Bavayia remain unknown, the two new species appear to be closely related to one another. MATERIALS AND METHODS tion of the main island. The two most widespread species, B. cyclura and B. sauvagii, are both probably composites of several morphologically similar, cryptic sibling species. Recent field investigations on the New Caledonian mainland have revealed the presence of two additional species of Bavayia. Both are small, distinctively patterned, and apparently restricted in distribution. Specimens from the collections of the Australian Museum (AMS), California Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN), were examined under a dissecting microscope (Nikon SMZ-lO) and measurements were taken with digital calipers (Brown and Sharpe Digit-cal Plus). Radiographs were prepared using a cabinet x-ray system (Faxitron) with exposures of 40 sec at 40 kV. The following measurements were recorded for each specimen: snout-vent length (SVL); forearm length from elbow to level of the base of the third metacarpal (FA); forelimb length from limb insertion to level of the base of the third metacarpal (FOL); crus length from knee to level of the base of the third metatarsal (TBL); hindlimb length from limb insertion to position of the base of the third metatarsal 342 BAVAYIA IS ONE OF THREE genera of carphodactyline geckos that are endemic to the New Caledonian region. Seven species are currently recognized in the genus (Bauer 1990). Three of these, B. crassicollis Roux, B. cyclura (Giinther), and B. sauvagii (Boulenger), are relatively widely distributed, with populations on the Isle of Pines (Bauer and Sadlier 1994) and the Loyalty Islands (Sadlier and Bauer 1997a), as well as on the New Caledonian mainland and most smaller satellite islands in the group (Bauer and Vindum 1990). The remaining members of the genus include two species occurring only at middle to high elevations in the northern portion of the main island (B. ornata Roux and B. validiclavis Sadlier), one more widely distributed upland form, B. montana Roux, and B. septuiclavis Sadlier, limited to the southern por'The Province Nord Biodiversity Project was initiated and funded by Conservation International (Washington, D.C.), the Maruia Society (New Zealand), and Province Nord (New Caledonia). Additional fieldwork was funded by the California Academy of Sciences, the Australian Museum, and the Department of Biology, Villanova University. Manuscript accepted 2 February 1998. 2 Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085. 3270 Thorpe-Orinoco Road, Orinoco, RD I, Motueka 7161, New Zealand. 4Department of Herpetology, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney 2000, New South Wales, Australia. New Species of the Gecko Genus Bavayia-BAUER ET AL. 343 (HIL); tail length (TL); tail width at base (TWB); tail width at first postpygal vertebra (TWP); axilla-groin length (AG); head length from posterior edge of mandible to snout tip (HL); maximal head width (HW); maximal head depth (HD); eye diameter (ED); distance from posterior border of orbit to anterior margin of ear (EE); and distance from anterior border of orbit to tip of snout (ES). Subdigitallamellae (SDL) were counted from the proximalmost enlarged setae-bearing lamellae to the distal tip of the digits. In the case of digit I, the paired apical plates were included in lamellar counts.