Taxonomic reassessment and phylogenetic placement of Cyrtodactylus phuketensis (Reptilia, Gekkonidae) based on morphological and molecular evidence

The taxonomy and phylogeny of the complex along the Thai-Malay Peninsular region has been the focus of many recent studies and has resulted in the recognition of 17 species. However, the majority of these studies were focused on Peninsular and insular Malaysia where there were specimens and genetic vouchers. The taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of the Thai species in this complex remain unresolved, due to the lack of genetic material of some species, especially and from Thai populations. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationship between and its closely related species , using both morphometric and molecular data. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) gene revealed that is embedded within a clade with 1.45-4.20% (mean 2.63%) uncorrected pairwise sequence divergences. Morphological comparisons showed nearly identical measurements of and and overlapping ranges in meristic characters. Based on these data, is considered to be a variant of , thus rendering a junior synonym of .