Ancylodactylus chyuluensis Malonza & Bauer 2022, sp. nov.

Ancylodactylus chyuluensis sp. nov. Chyulu Hills Pygmy Forest Gecko (Figure 13) Holotype. NMK-L3869, adult male, Chyulu Hills National Park, Makueni County, Kenya (02.56017° S, 37.88877° E; 1200 m), collected September 21 2016 by Patrick K. Malonza, Felista K. Kilunda & Justus Ochong. Diagnosis. An extremely small-sized Ancylodactylus with a SVL of 28 mm in the unique type. Dorsal scalation mostly homogeneous with a single pair of rows of very small tubercles along the flanks; other scales minute and granular. Limbs and digits long, with enlarged basal lamellae under and proximal to penultimate interphalangeal joint (3 under digit IV). Length of intact original tail slightly longer than SVL. Tail dorsum distal to the pygal portion of the tail atuberculate; median subcaudal scales in a single row of large, but not transversely widened scales. Male precloacal pores in a single continuous row of 8. Dorsal pattern of pale fleurs-de-lis and chevrons as well as pale and dark spots on spots on a gray-brown to olive background; tail with pairs of dark brown and ashy chevrons or crossbands. Ventral coloration grayish with darker markings on the edges of scales yielding a mottled pattern; throat and chin mottled with a bluish center. Comparisons with Congeners. Ancylodactylus chyuluensis sp. nov. may be distinguished from A. spinicollis and A. petrodroma in lacking an enlarged preaxial metatarsal scale and from these two species plus A. alantika in having a series of flattened, rectangular lamellae subtending the second and third phalanges of the pedal digits, rather than single enlarged, rounded scale (plaque of Perret 1986) at the penultimate joint of each digit. It is distinguished from A. uzungwae, A. quattuorseriatus, A. dickersonae (but see Spawls et al. 2018), A. petrodroma, A. occidentalis, A. spinicollis, A. alantika, A. kituiensis sp. nov., and A. spawlsi sp. nov. by lacking tubercles on the post-pygal (autotomic) portion of the tail dorsum. It has only two tubercle rows on the trunk, one on each flank, a feature that differentiates it form all congeners except some A. dickersonae (0–6 rows fide Perret 1986; 0–4 fide Spawls et al. 2018) and A. mathewsensis sp. nov. (0–2 rows), and A. spawlsi sp. nov. (2 rows). It possesses a lower number of precloacal pores (8) than A. africanus (9–12), A. barbouri (14), A. alantika (11), and A. gigas (15–16), but has a greater number than A. mathewsensis sp. nov. (6–7), A. laikipiensis sp. nov. (7), and A. spawlsi sp. nov. (6). It may also be distinguished in having a single median series of enlarged, but not transversely widened subcaudals in contrast to A. spinicollis, A. petrodroma, and A. occidentalis (irregular subcaudals), A. elgonensis, A. barbouri, A. uzungwae, A. kenyaensis sp. nov., and A. kituiensis sp. nov. (alternating single and paired scales), and A. dilepis, A. gigas, A. africanus, A. quattuorseriatus, A. dickersonae, and A. koehleri, (single row of median subcaudals, but transversely widened or not uniform throughout). In lacking any yellow or orange ventral coloration A. chyuluensis sp. nov. may be distinguished from A. africanus, A. elgonensis, A. koehleri, A. dilepis, A. spinicollis, A. petrodroma, A. occidentalis, A. alantika, A. mathewsensis sp. nov., A. laikipiensis sp. nov., and A. spawlsi, sp. nov. This last feature also distinguishes the new species from A. elgonensis, With the only known specimen having a SVL of 28 mm, Ancylodactylus chyuluensis sp. nov. is the smallest known Ancylodactylus. Although diminutive (