A new karst-dwelling, colorful pitviper (Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from northern Peninsular Thailand.

We describe a colorful and distinctively patterned, karst-dwelling pitviper, Trimeresurus kuiburi sp. nov., from the isolated, coastal massif of Khao Sam Roi Yot in Kui Buri District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, in northern Peninsular Thailand. The new species, member of the 'Cryptelytrops group' sensu Malhotra Thorpe (2004) and morphologically and genetically allied to Trimeresurus kanburiensis and T. venustus, differs from all pitviper taxa by a combination of red/purple bands on a green dorsum; a white concave suborbital stripe in males (straight and less visible in females); white, spaced vertebral dots in males (absent in females); pale green belly lacking dark dots or stripe on the lateral sides of the ventrals; partially fused first supralabial and nasal scale; 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody; 164171 ventrals; 6365 subcaudals in males, 5153 in females; maximal known SVL of 451 mm; and long, papillose hemipenes.

A new limestone-dwelling leaf-toed gecko (Gekkonidae: Dixonius) from coastal hills in Cha-am, peninsular Thailand.

We describe Dixonius pawangkhananti sp. nov. from coastal limestone hills in Cha-am District, Phetchaburi Province, peninsular Thailand. The new species differs from all currently recognized Dixonius by the following combination of morphological characters and pattern: maximal known snout-vent length of 42.6 mm; 16 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 30 to 32 paravertebral scales; 16 longitudinal rows of ventral scales across the abdomen; six precloacal pores in males, no pores in females; a marked canthal stripe; and a sexually dimorphic dorsal pattern consisting of bands (males) or blotches (females). This description brings the number of Dixonius species to ten, with four species endemic to Thailand.

Acanthosaura aurantiacrista (Squamata: Agamidae), a new long horn lizard from northern Thailand.

BACKGROUND: In Thailand, five species of Acanthosaura have been recorded so far, including Acanthosaura armata from the southern region, A. cardamomensis from the eastern region, A. crucigera from the western region, A. lepidogaster from the northern region and A. phuketensis from the Phuket Island and south-western region. However, comprehensive studies of diversity patterns and distribution of Acanthosaura are still lacking in some areas and need further information for designating areas of special conservation importance and nature protection planning in Thailand. NEW INFORMATION: Acanthosaura aurantiacrista is a new species of long-horned lizard of the genus Acanthosaura from northern Thailand. It is distinguished from all other species of Acanthosaura by a dagger-like nuchal spine with yellowish-orange colouration in females, bright yellow colouration in males and a combination of other morphological characters: a greater tail length to snout-vent length ratio; a larger postorbital spine, nuchal spine, dorsal spine and occipital spine compared to its head length; a smaller diastema to snout-vent length ratio; a greater number of subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger and fourth toe; and a larger gular pouch than other Acanthosaura species. Analysis of mitochondrial ND2 gene sequences revealed a sister clade between the A. aurantiacrista lineage and the A. crucigera lineage with a 100% probability of divergence, according to Bayesian analysis and strong support value for Maximum Likelihood analysis. The pairwise distance ranged from 13.8-15.0% between A. aurantiacrista and A. cardamomensis, 10.9-14.5% between A. aurantiacrista and A. crucigera and 0-1.2% amongst A. aurantiacrista populations. The discovery of this lizard increases the known endemic herpetological diversity and underscores the importance of conservation in the mountain rainforest region of northern Thailand.

A new limestone-dwelling leaf-toed gecko (Gekkonidae: Dixonius) from Khao Sam Roi Yot massif, peninsular Thailand.

We describe Dixonius kaweesaki sp. nov. from Khao Daeng, a limestone mountain in Khao Sam Roi Yot massif, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, peninsular Thailand. It is diagnosed from all other species by a combination of maximal SVL of 41.6 mm; 12 or 13 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 24 longitudinal rows of ventrals across the abdomen; a continuous series of 9-11 precloacal pores in males, no pores in females; and two bold dark stripes from the snout to the base of the tail separated by a contrasting light vertebral stripe. It is the eighth species in the genus Dixonius. Lastly, we discuss the type locality of Phyllodactylus paviei, currently regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Dixonius siamensis.