New Gecko Species Discovered and Named After Javanese Dish

TheIndonesia.co - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has announced the discovery of a new species within the bow-fingered gecko genus (Cyrtodactylus), identified as Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun, from East Java.

According to Antara News Agency, Awal Riyanto, a researcher at BRIN’s Biosystematics and Evolution Research Centre, revealed that this species thrives in urban environments such as embankments, bridges, roof tile piles, and gardens.

"The introduction of Indonesia's culinary diversity through science has always been a goal of our team, just as we did with the descriptions of Cyrtodactylus papeda from Obi Island (North Maluku) and Cyrtodactylus tehetehe from Derawan Islands (East Kalimantan)," Riyanto said on Tuesday, explaining the origin of the species' name.

The species was named Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun after "pecel madiun", a popular Javanese salad with peanut sauce originating from Madiun in East Java.

Riyanto described the newly discovered gecko as having brown and blackish skin, with males measuring up to 67.2 mm in snout-vent length and females reaching up to 59 mm. The species features 18 to 20 irregular rows of dorsal tubercles along the central part of its body, 26 to 28 tubercular rows between the armpit and groin, and 28 to 34 rows of abdominal scales.

"The Cyrtodactylus pecelmadiun tends to be a generalist species, occupying habitats close to human activity, no higher than 40 cm above the ground," Riyanto noted.

This new species is genetically related to Cyrtodactylus petani, with a genetic distance of 0.1 to 1.6 percent. It is also the second instance of the darmandvillei group being found in Java, following the discovery of Cyrtodactylus petani, which is abundant in the Lesser Sunda region.

Riyanto explained that geckos of the Cyrtodactylus genus in Java are generally categorized into two main groups: darmandvillei and marmoratus.

"This discovery motivates further exploration to uncover the hidden diversity of Cyrtodactylus species in Java, as many remain unidentified," Riyanto added.

The marbled bow-fingered gecko (Cyrtodactylus marmoratus) was first 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 findings of this research were published in the January 16, 2025 issue of the  Zootaxa  journal, contributing to taxonomic studies and biodiversity conservation in Indonesia.