Revision of the Cyrtodactylus loriae species group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Papuan Peninsula, Papua New Guinea.

I review lizards currently assigned to the gekkonid species Cyrtodactylus loriae (Boulenger), which has previously been shown to include several deeply divergent lineages that have been considered candidate species based on molecular evidence. This complex is limited to lower montane and hill forest in the Owen Stanley Mts. of southeastern New Guinea and the Central Highlands. I clarify which of the deeply divergent molecular lineages comprises true C. loriae, and I describe an additional two lineages as distinct species within this complex. The first occupies upper elevations in southern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, and adjacent mountains of northern Milne Bay Province. The second species occurs in the northern portion of the Papuan Peninsula and in the adjacent Huon Peninsula. Molecular divergences among these species date from the middle Miocene. Each species is geographically isolated from the others, with C. loriae being restricted to the western side of the Owen Stanley Mts., C. parkerisp. nov. being found along the northeastern side of the Owen Stanleys and on the Huon Peninsula northeast of that, and C. amicorumsp. nov. being restricted to that part of the Papuan Peninsula south of the low-elevation Musa Divide. Separation of the common ancestors of these species likely occurred due to uplift of the Owen Stanleys in the middle Miocene and subsequent drying of the low-elevation Musa Divide during the late Miocene. I provide an updated key to the 33 species of Cyrtodactylus found in Melanesia.