Overview
- The species, named Phyllodactylus ngiwa (Tehuacán‑Cuicatlán leaf‑toed gecko), is officially recorded as endemic to the Tehuacán‑Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve.
- The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas said the registration will inform habitat‑management measures and strengthen protection for endemic fauna.
- The gecko was long mistaken for Phyllodactylus bordai until analyses by teams from UANL and UNAM demonstrated it is a separate species.
- The taxonomic revision and formal description were published in November in Zootaxa by Tonatiuh Ramírez Reyes, Daniel R. Durán Arceo, Ricardo Palacios Aguilar and Oscar Flores Villela.
- The research drew on iNaturalistMX records from community brigades beginning in 2020 and proceeded under CONANP permits with SECIHTI funding and local collaboration.