Data from: Morphological and genetic evidence for a new karst specialist lizard from New Guinea (Cyrtodactylus: Gekkonidae).

Exposed limestone karst landscapes, especially in the tropics, are often home to distinctive and specialised biotas. Amongst vertebrates, a particularly large number of karst-associated lizard taxa have been described, but for the vast majority, evidence of specific adaptions to karst is lacking. A number of studies, however, have provided evidence of consistent morphological trends in lizards that utilise complex, three-dimensional, saxicoline habitats such as those that typify karst areas. Here we combine morphological and genetic data to test whether a newly discovered gecko from an extremely rugged karst area in New Guinea shows morphological trends matching these observed in other lizards associated with complex rock habitats such as karst and caves. Consistent with predictions, the new species’ head is flatter and narrower than similar-sized relatives, and it has proportionally larger eyes and longer limbs. These trends indicate this taxon represents the second documented instance of karst specialisation in a New Guinean vertebrate, and suggest morphological traits to test for evidence of specialised ecological associations in the many karst-associated Cyrtodactylus taxa from Southeast Asia.

裸露的石灰岩喀斯特（karst）地貌，尤其在热带区域，往往孕育着独特且特化的生物区系。在脊椎动物中，已被描述的与喀斯特相关的蜥蜴类群（taxa）数量尤为可观，但绝大多数类群均缺乏针对喀斯特环境的特化适应证据。然而，多项研究已证实，利用复杂三维岩生生境（如典型喀斯特区域生境）的蜥蜴类群存在一致的形态学趋势。本研究结合形态学与遗传学数据，旨在验证：新几内亚一处极端崎岖的喀斯特区域中发现的壁虎新种，是否呈现出与其他栖息于喀斯特、洞穴等复杂岩生生境的蜥蜴类群一致的形态学特征趋势。与预测结果一致，该新种的头部相较于体型相近的近缘类群更为扁平狭窄，同时拥有比例更大的眼部与更长的四肢。上述形态趋势表明，该类群是新几内亚脊椎动物中第二个被记录的喀斯特特化类群；同时，本研究提出的形态学特征，可用于检验东南亚诸多与喀斯特相关的弯趾虎属（Cyrtodactylus）类群是否存在特化的生态关联。