1A new species of Sphenomorphus Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae) from 2Vietnam 4Corresponding author: Truong Nguyen Telephone: +49 (0) 176 26763988 Fax: E-mail: nqt2@yahoo.com +49 (0) 221 4705038 9Running title: Nguyen et al., A new Sphenomorphus from Vietnam 10Number of plates: 11Number of references: 22 12Reptilia: New described taxa: species 1 13A new species of Sphenomorphus Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae) from 14Vietnam 15 16TRUONG QUANG NGUYEN1,4,6, KHOI VU NGUYEN2, ROBERT WAYNE VAN 17DEVENDER3, MICHAEL BONKOWSKI4, AND THOMAS ZIEGLER4,5 18 191 Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, 20 Hanoi, Vietnam E-mail: nqt2@yahoo.com 212 Wildlife At Risk, 202/10 Nguyen Xi Street, Ward 26, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Email: 22 khoi.nv@wildlifeatrisk.org 233 Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608 USA Email: vandevenderr@appstate.edu 244 Zoological Institute, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Strasse 47b, D-50674 Cologne, Germany Email: 25 m.bonkowski@uni-koeln.de 265 AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Riehler Strasse 173, D-50735 Cologne, Germany E-mail: ziegler@koelnerzoo.de 276 corresponding author 28 29Abstract 30 31A new forest skink species of the genus Sphenomorphus is described from Kon Tum Plateau, 32southern Vietnam Sphenomorphus sheai sp nov is similar to the other montane skink 33species from the Indochina region, Lygosoma veunsaiensis, Scincella apraefrontalis, 34Sphenomorphus tetradactylus, and Sphenomorphus tridigitus, in having a small size and the 35absence of external ear openings However, the new species is differentiated from 36aforementioned species and other members of Sphenomorphus from China and mainland 37Southeast Asia by a unique suite of morphological characters The discovery of S sheai brings 38the total species number of Sphenomorphus known from Vietnam to twelve 39 40Key words: Kon Tum Plateau, skink, Sphenomorphus, taxonomy 41 42Introduction 43 44The genus Sphenomorphus Fitzinger, 1843 is one of the most diverse groups of lizards with more 45than 120 currently known species worldwide (Nguyen et al 2011; Roy et al 2013; Uetz 2013) 2 46Recent work of Linkem et al (2011) demonstrated that Sphenomorphus is highly paraphyletic 47These authors subsequently transferred the New World species, formerly assigned to the genus, to 48Scincella and removed 29 Asian species from Sphenomorphus to other genera, viz Insulasaurus, 49Otosaurus, Parvoscincus, Pinoyscincus, and Tytthoscincus (see Linkem et al 2011) In their 50review of the genus Sphenomorphus in Vietnam, Nguyen et al (2011) recognized eleven species, 51including the newly described S tonkinensis Nguyen, Schmitz, Nguyen, Orlov, Böhme & Ziegler, 522011 and S mimicus Taylor, 1962, a species newly recorded for the country In addition, Nguyen 53et al (2012) reported the Taiwan Skink, Sphenomorphus incognitus (Thompson, 1912), from 54Vietnam for the first time These discoveries clearly underline the imperfectly 55studied herpetofauna of Vietnam, in particular the lizard communities in 56remote areas During recent field work in the montane forest of Kon Tum Plateau, southern 57Central Vietnam, we collected a remarkable small skink that was assigned to the genus 58Sphenomorphus based on the following morphological characters: prefrontals present, parietals in 59contact behind interparietal, supranasals absent, lower eyelid scaly, dorsal scales smooth, medial 60pair of precloacals enlarged, the inner precloacals overlapping the outer ones, hindlimbs with five 61digits, scales on dorsal surface of fourth toe in two or more rows over at least half of digit (Taylor 621963; Greer 1979, 1990; Shea & Greer 2002; Greer et al 2006; Grismer 2008; Nguyen et al 632011) Closer examination of this specimen revealed it to be an unnamed Sphenomorphus and we 64herein describe it as a new species 67Material and methods 68 69Field survey was conducted in the border area between Quang Ngai and Kon Tum provinces, 70southern Central Vietnam, in May and June 2012 The survey site is located in a transitional area 71between the Kon Tum Plateau and the lowlands A single specimen was collected, anaesthetised 72and euthanized with ethyl alcohol, fixed in 80% ethanol and subsequently stored in 70% ethanol 73Specimens referred to in this paper are deposited in the collections of the Institute of Ecology and 74Biological Resources (IEBR), Hanoi, Vietnam; Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto, Canada; 75and Zoological Institute in St Petersburg (ZISP), Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia 76 Measurements were taken with a digital caliper to the nearest 0.1 mm The following 77abbreviations are used: SVL: Snout–vent length, TaL: Tail length, AG: Axilla–groin distance 78(from posterior junction of forelimb and body wall to anterior junction of hind limb and body 3 79wall with the limbs held at right angles to the body), HL: Head length (from tip of snout to 80posterior margin of parietal), HW: Head width (at the widest point of temporal region), SL: Snout 81length (from anterior corner of eye to tip of snout), SFlL: Snout–forelimb length (from tip of 82snout to anterior junction of forelimb and body wall, with the limb held at right angles to the 83body), FlL: Forelimb length (from anterior junction of forelimb and body wall to the tip of fourth 84finger, with the limb held at right angles to the body), HlL: Hind limb length (anterior junction of 85hindlimb and body wall to the tip of fourth toe, with the limb held at right angles to the body) 86Scalation: Paravertebral scales: number of scales in a line from posterior edge of parietals to 87dorsal point opposite posterior margin of the medial precloacals; ventral scale rows: number of 88scales from first gular to anterior margin of precloacals Bilateral scale counts are given as 89left/right 90 91Systematics 92 93Sphenomorphus sheai sp nov 94(Figs 1, 2) 95 96Holotype IEBR A.2013.22 (Field number ASU 10715), adult female, collected on June 2012 97by K V Nguyen and R W Van Devender near Camp (14o37.098’N, 108o30.177’E, elevation 981,025 m; datum WGS84) from Kum Tum Plateau in the border area between Quang Ngai and 99Kon Tum provinces, southern Central Vietnam 100Diagnosis Size small (SVL 35.2 mm); prefrontals separated from each other; supraoculars four; 101nuchals in two pairs; lower eyelid scaly; supralabials six, anterior first fused with nasal; primary 102temporals two; external ear openings absent; midbody scales in 20 rows; dorsal scales smooth, 103paravertebral scales 53, not widened; limbs short, pentadactyl; scales on dorsal surface of base of 104fourth toe in three rows; lamellae under fourth toe six; free margins of upper and lower eyelids 105not edged in white; dorsum and tail base bronze brown with dark dots; dorsolateral light stripe 106present on neck, shoulder and anterior part of dorsum; upper lateral head and flank with narrow 107black stripe 4 108Description of holotype Size small (SVL 35.2 mm), tail complete (TaL 58.5 mm), head longer 109than wide (HL 6.0 mm, HW 4.2 mm), SL 2.6 mm, SFlL 10.8 mm, AG 21.2 mm, limbs short (FlL 1105.1 mm, HlL 7.5 mm); proportions: TaL/SVL 1.66, HL/SVL 0.17, FlL/SVL 0.14, HlL/SVL 0.21 111 Snout obtuse, rounded anteriorly; rostral wider than high, distinctly visible from above; 112supranasals absent; frontonasal wider than long, in contact with rostral, nasals, anterior loreals, 113and prefrontals; prefrontals separated from each other; frontal narrowing posteriorly, longer than 114the distance to the tip of snout, in contact with frontonasal, prefrontals, first and second 115supraoculars, and frontoparietals; frontoparietals in contact with each other anteriorly, and 116bordered by frontal, three posterior supraoculars, parietals, and interparietal; interparietal 117lozenge-shaped with a small transparent spot in posterior angle; parietals in contact posteriorly, 118posterolateral border surrounded by three scales on each side; nuchal scales in two pairs 119 Nostril in center of nasal; postnasals absent; loreals two, anterior larger than posterior; 120preoculars single; presubocular single; supraciliaries seven, first largest, first to third in contact 121with first supraocular; supraoculars four, second widest, fourth supraocular followed by a small 122scale; postocular single; postsuboculars three, lower one in contact with fifth supralabial; primary 123temporals two, lower one in contact with sixth supralabial; secondary temporals two, upper one 124very large, in contact with parietal, overlapped by lower one; lower eyelid moveable, scaly, 125separated from supralabials by one row of small scales; supralabials six, anterior first fused with 126nasal, fifth and sixth enlarged, fourth below the eye; external ear openings absent 127 Mental wider than long, rounded anteriorly, in contact with anterior infralabial on each side 128and postmental; infralabials five; postmental undivided, in contact with mental, first infralabial 129and anterior pair of chinshields; three pairs of chinshields, anterior pair in contact with each other 130anteriorly, second pair separated from each other by a gular scale, and posterior pair separated 131from each other by three scales 132 Midbody scales in 20 rows; dorsal scales smooth, subequal to lateral and ventral scales, four 133scale rows between dark stripes on upper lateral zones; paravertebral scales 53, not widened; 134ventrals smooth, in 54 rows; precloacals four, inner scales overlapping outer ones, medial two 135enlarged, right scale overlapped by left scale; tail thick at base, median subcaudals widened 136 Limbs short, pentadactyl; second and fourth fingers equal in length, third longest; fore and 137hind limbs distinctly separated when adpressed along body wall; scales on dorsal surface of base 5 138of fourth toe in three rows, reducing to two at third or fourth scale and with terminal two scales 139single; subdigital lamellae smooth, numbering five under fourth finger and six under fourth toe 140 Coloration in alcohol Free margins of upper and lower eyelids not edged in white; dorsum 141and tail base bronze brown with fine dark dots; dorsal tail tip dark brown; upper lateral head and 142flank with narrow black stripe, one scale wide, running from nostril to anterior corner of eye and 143from behind the eye through hindlimb to tail base, interrupted by small light spots from posterior 144half of body; dorsolateral light stripe present on neck, shoulder and anterior part of dorsum; 145supralabials and infralabials with dark bars on sutures; arms and legs dark brown with light spots; 146chin and throat cream; venter and tail base cream; underside of tail tip with very small dark 147brown dots 148 Please insert Figures and here 149Distribution Sphenomorphus sheai sp nov is known only from the type locality in Kon Tum 150Plateau, the border area between Quang Ngai and Kon Tum Province, southern Central Vietnam 151(Fig 3) 152 Please insert Figure here 153Natural history The holotype was collected about two hours after dark among leaf litter on a 154steep slope about three meters above a small stream surrounded by secondary forest at an 155elevation of 1025 m The holotype contained four small white follicles in each ovary 156Etymology The new species is named in honour of Dr Glenn Shea from the University of 157Sydney, Australia, in recognition of his outstanding contributions towards the systematics of 158scincid lizards For the common names we suggest Shea’s Forest Skink (English), Thằn lằn phê159nô shea (Vietnamese), and Sheas Bodenskink (German) 160Comparisons Based on specimen examination (Appendix) and data from the literature (e.g., 161Boulenger 1887; Smith 1935; Bourret 1939, 2009; Taylor 1963; Darevsky & Orlov 2005; Nguyen 162et al 2011, Luu et al 2013; Roy et al 2013), we compare Sphenomorphus sheai with the 163following species of Sphenomorphus from China and mainland Southeast Asia which have 164midbody scale counts fewer than 26 rows: Sphenomorphus stellatus (Boulenger) (22–24 rows), 165S tridigitus (Bourret) (18–20 rows), S tetradactylus (Darevsky & Orlov) (20 rows) 166Sphenomorphus sheai can be distinguished from S stellatus by having a smaller size (SVL 35.2 167mm vs 57–80 mm in S stellatus), fewer lamellae under fourth toe (six vs 18–23 in S stellatus), 168fore and hind limbs distinctly separated when adpressed along body wall (vs overlapped), and by 6 169the absence of dorsal large dark blotches (vs presence) The new species differs from S 170tridigitus and S tetradactylus by having forelimbs pentydactyl (versus three and four in S 171tridigitus and S tetradactylus, respectively) and two primary temporals (vs one in S tridigitus 172and S tetradactylus) 173 Sphenomorphus sheai could be mistaken for several skink species of the genus Lygosoma, 174which also have short limbs and midbody scale rows fewer than 26, including L anguinum 175(Theobald) (22), L lineolatum (Stolizcka) (22), L popae (Shreve) (24), L punctata (Gmelin) 176(24–28), L quadrupes (Linnaeus) (24–28), and L veunsaiensis Geissler, Hartmann & Neang 177(22) However, Sphenomorphus sheai differs from all aforementioned species by the absence of 178supranasals (present in Lygosoma) and having the first supralabial fused with nasal (not fused in 179Lygosma) (see Geissler et al 2012) 180 Sphenomorphus sheai also resembles Scincella apraefrontalis Nguyen, Nguyen, Böhme & 181Ziegler by having a low midbody scale count, no ear openings, and first supralabial fused with 182nasal; however, the new species can be distinguished from latter by the presence of prefrontals 183and opaque window on lower eyelid which are absent in Scincella apraefrontalis (Nguyen et al 1842010) 185 186Discussion 187 188With the description of Sphenomorphus sheai, a total of 12 species of Sphenomorphus are 189currently recognized from Vietnam (Nguyen et al 2009, 2011) The loss of external ear openings 190has been reported from other species of skinks from the Indochina region: Lygosoma 191veunsaiensis, Scincella apraefrontalis, Sphenomorphus tetradactylus, and Sphenomorphus 192tridigitus (Darevsky & Orlov 2005; Nguyen et al 2010, 2011; Geissler et al 2012) This 193character is strongly associated with small size and fossoriality (Greer 2002; Nguyen et al 2010) 194Because of their rarity and hidden life mode, small skinks are a poorly studied group of lizards 195All five of these small species were described based on a single specimen, and three of them have 196been discovered from Cambodia or Vietnam since 2010 (Bourret 1939; Darevsky & Orlov 2005; 197Greer et al 2006; Nguyen et al 2010, 2011; Geissler et al 2012; Luu et al 2013) 198 199Acknowledgements 7 200 201We are grateful to the directorates of the Forest Protection Department of Quang Ngai Province 202for the support of our field work and issuing relevant permits Field survey in Quang Ngai 203Province in 2012 was assisted by Randall Babb, Ab Abercrombie, Chris Hope, Paul Moler, and 204Bill Turner For the loan of specimens, we thank Canh Xuan Le, Hang Thi An, and Tao Thien 205Nguyen (Hanoi), Nikolai Orlov (St Petersburg) Thanks to Eleanor Sterling (New York) and 206Kevin Koy (Berkeley) for providing the map Field survey in Kon Tum Plateau was supported by 207the Wildlife at Risk (WAR, Ho Chi Minh City) Research of T Q Nguyen in Germany is funded 208by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung/Foundation (VIE 1143441) 209 210References 211 212Boulenger, G A (1887) Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History) 213 Volume III Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, 214 Chamaeleontidae Trustees, London, 575 pp 215Bourret, R (1939) Notes herpetologiques sur l’Indo-Chine francaise XVIII Reptiles et 216 batraciens recusau laboratoire des Sciences naturelles de l’Universiteau cours de l’annee 217 1939 Descriptions de quatreespeces et d’une variete nouvelles Bulletin général de 218 l’Instruction publique, Hanoi, 19e Annee (4, decembre) Annexe, 5–39, pl 219Bourret, R (2009) Les Lézards de l’Indochine Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, 604 pp., 220 23 pl 221Darevsky, I S & Orlov, N L (2005) New species of limb-reduced lygosomine skink genus 222 Leptoseps Greer, 1997 (Sauria, Scincidae) from Vietnam Russian Journal of Herpetology, 223 12, 65–68 224Geissler, P., Hartmann, T & Neang, T (2012) A new species of the genus Lygosoma Hardwicke 225 & Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Scincidae) from northeastern Cambodia, with an updated 226 identification key to the genus Lygosoma in mainland Southeast Asia Zootaxa, 3190, 56–68 227Greer, A E (1979) A phylogenetic subdivision of Australian skinks Records of the Australian 228 Museum, 32, 339–371 229Greer, A E (1990) Overlap pattern in the preanal scale row: an important systematic character in 230 skinks Journal of Herpetology, 24, 328–330 8 231Greer A E (2002) The loss of the external ear opening in scincid lizards 232 Journal of Herpetology, 36, 544–555 233Greer, A E., David, P & Teynié, A (2006) The Southeast Asian scincid lizard Siaphos tridigitus 234 Bourret, 1939 (Reptilia, Scincidae): a second specimen Zoosystema, 28, 785–790 235Grismer, L L (2008) A new species of insular skink (genus Sphenomorphus Fitzinger 1843) 236 from the Langkawi Archipelago, Kedah, West Malaysia with the first report of the 237 herpetofauna of Pulau Singa Besar and an updated checklist of the herpetofauna of Pulau 238 Langkawi Zootaxa, 1691, 53–66 239Linkem, C W., Diesmos, A C & Brown, R M (2011) Molecular systematics of the Philippine 240 forest skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Sphenomorphus): testing morphological hypotheses of 241 interspecific relationships Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 163, 1217–1243 242Luu, Q V., Nguyen, T Q., Pham, C T., Dang, K N., Vu, T N., Miskovic, S., Bonkowski, M & 243 Ziegler, T (2013) No end in sight? Further new records of amphibians and reptiles from 244 Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam Biodiversity Journal, 245 4: 285–300 246Nguyen, S V., Ho, C T & Nguyen, T Q (2009) Herpetofauna of Vietnam Edition Chimaira, 247 Frankfurt am Main, 768 pp 248Nguyen, T Q., Nguyen, S V., Böhme, W & Ziegler, T (2010) A new species of Scincella 249 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Vietnam Folia Zoologica, 59(2), 115–121 250Nguyen, T Q., Schmitz, A., Nguyen, T T., Orlov, N L., Böhme, W & Ziegler, T (2011) A 251 review of the genus Sphenormorphus Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae) in 252 Vietnam, with description of a new species from northern Vietnam and Hainan Island, 253 southern China and the first record of S mimicus Taylor, 1962 from Vietnam Journal of 254 Herpetology, 45(2), 145–154 255Nguyen, T Q., Tran, T T., Nguyen, T T., Ziegler, T & Böhme, W (2012) First record of 256 Sphenomorphus incognitus (Thompson, 1912) (Squamata: Scincidae) from Vietnam with 257 some notes on natural history Asian Herpetological Research, 3, 147−150 258Roy, A D., Das, I., Bauer, A M., Tron, R K L & Karanth, P (2013) Lizard wear shades A 259 spectacled Sphenomorphus (Squamata: Scincidae), from the sacred forests of Mawphlang, 260 Meghalaya, Northe-ast India Zootaxa, 3071: 257−276 9 261Shea, G M & Greer, A E (2002) From Sphenomorphus to Lipinia: Generic reassignment of two 262 poorly known New Guinea skinks Journal of Herpetology, 36,148–156 263Smith, M A (1935) The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma Reptilia and 264 Amphibia Volume 2-Sauria Taylor and Francis, London 265Taylor, E H (1963) The lizards of Thailand University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 44, 687– 266 1077 267Thompson, J C (1912) Herpetological notices, No Prodrome of descriptions of new species 268 of Reptilia and Batrachia from the Far East Privately published, San Francisco, pp 269Uetz, P (2013) The Reptile Database, http://reptile–database.reptarium.cz, accessed on 20 270 September 2013 271 272Appendix Comparative specimens examined 273Sphenomorphus stellatus VIETNAM: Kon Tum: Kon Plong: Xa Hieu: IEBR FN 39481; Gia 274Lai: An Khe (now K’Bang): Tram Lap: ROM 30567–30568 275Sphenomorphus tridigitus VIETNAM: Quang Nam: Tra My: Ngoc Linh Mountain: IEBR 73–74 276Sphenomorphus tetradactylus VIETNAM: Quang Binh: Phong Nha – Ke Bang: ZISP 23259 277(holotype), IEBR A.2013.15 10 10 278Figure legends 279 280Figure Dorsal view of the holotype (IEBR A.2013.22) of Sphenomorphus sheai sp nov Photo 281R W Van Devender 282 283Figure Dorsal (A) and lateral (B) views of the head of Sphenomorphus sheai sp nov 284(holotype IEBR A.2013.22) Photos T Q Nguyen 285 286Figure Map showing the type locality (red circle) of Sphenomorphus sheai in the border area 287between Quang Ngai and Kon Tum Province, southern Central Vietnam 11 11 ... Schmitz, A., Nguyen, T T., Orlov, N L., Böhme, W & Ziegler, T (2011) A 251 review of the genus Sphenormorphus Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae) in 252 Vietnam, with description of