Brachymeles dalawangdaliri DAVIS, GEHEBER, WATTERS, PENROD, FELLER, ASHFORD, KOURI, NGUYEN, SHAUBERGER, SHEATSLEY, WINFREY, WONG, SANGUILA, BROWN & SILER, 2016
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Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Tablas Slender Skink |
Synonym | Brachymeles dalawangdaliri DAVIS, GEHEBER, WATTERS, PENROD, FELLER, ASHFORD, KOURI, NGUYEN, SHAUBERGER, SHEATSLEY, WINFREY, WONG, SANGUILA, BROWN & SILER 2016 Brachymeles bonitae — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839 Brachymeles bonitae — TAYLOR 1917: 276 Brachymeles bonitae — BROWN 1956:5 Brachymeles bonitae — BROWN & RABOR 1967:526 Brachymeles bonitae — BROWN & ALCALA 1970 Brachymeles bonitae — BROWN & ALCALA 1980:20 Brachymeles bonitae — DAVIS et al. 2014 |
Distribution | Philippines (Romblon Province, Tablas Island) Type locality: Barrio Dubduban, Municipality of San Augustin, Romblon Province, Tablas Island, Philippines (12.58333° N, 122.10000° E; WGS 84; 500–800 ft. elevation. |
Reproduction | |
Types | Holotype: CAS 137149, adult male, collected among rotting leaves in early secondary growth forest on 24 May 1972 by L.C. Alcala. Paratypes. Five adult females (CAS 137148, 137150, 137151, 137153, 137154) and one adult male (CAS 137152) were collected in Barrio Dubduban, Municipality of San Augustin, Romblon Province, Tablas Island, Philippines (12.58333° N, 122.10000° E; WGS 84), by L.C. Alcala. CAS 137148 was collected in a rotting coconut trunk on 23 May 1972 (150–250 ft. elev.), CAS 137150–137152 were collected in humus under a rotting log in original forest on 1 June 1972 (450 ft. elev.), and CAS 137153, 137154 were collected in humus under a rotting log in original forest on 2 June 1972 (550 ft. elev.). |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Following recent taxonomic revisions of Brachymeles (Siler et al. 2011; Davis et al. 2014) the new species is assigned to the B. bonitae Complex based on the following suite of morphological characters: (1) limbs present, (2) non-pentadactyl, (3) fore-limbs with 0–3 fingers. (4) hind limbs with 0–2 toes, (5) paravertebral scale rows ≥ 91, (6) presacral vertebrae 47–53, (7) supraoculars four, (8) enlarged, differentiated nuchals present, (9) longitudinal rows of dark spots around the body absent, and (10) auricular opening absent. Brachymeles dalawangdaliri sp. nov. can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) body size small (SVL 66.0–80.9 mm), (2) fore-limbs bidactyl, (3) hind limbs digitless, unidactyl, or bidactyl, (4) limb length short, (5) supralabials six or seven, (6) infralabials six or seven, (7) supraciliaries five, (8) supraoculars four, (9) midbody scale rows 24 or 25, (10) axilla–groin scale rows 80–83, (11) paravertebral scale rows 97–101, (12) prefrontal contact absent, (13) frontoparietal contact present or absent, (14) enlarged chin shields in two pairs, (15) nuchals enlarged, (16) auricular opening absent, (17) presacral vertebrae 49, and (18) uniform body color (Tables 1, 2). Comparisons. Brachymeles dalawangdaliri sp. nov. can be distinguished from B. ilocandia, B. isangdaliri, B. mapalonggaon, and B. tridactylus by having bidactyl fore-limbs and 0–2 digits on the hind limbs (versus being digitless [B. ilocandia, B. mapalanggaon], unidactyl [B. isangdaliri], or tridactyl [B. tridactylus]); from B. bonitae by having fewer number of presacral vertebrae (49 versus 53), fewer number of axilla–groin scale rows (80–83 versus 83–90), fewer number of paravertebral scale rows (97–101 versus 103–110), a greater number of infralabials (6, 7 versus 5), and by the absence (versus presence) of a 3rd chin shield and fused mental; from B. ilocandia by having a longer fore-limb (1.4–2.2 mm versus 1.1–1.4) and hind limb length (1.9–2.2 mm versus 1.6– 1.9), fewer number of presacral vertebrae (49 versus 50–53), and by the absence (versus presence) of a 3rd chin shield pair; from B. isangdaliri by having a longer snout–vent length (66.0–80.9 mm versus 59.5), a longer fore- limb length (1.4–2.2 mm versus 1.3), a greater number of presacral vertebrae (49 versus 47), greater number of midbody scale rows (24, 25 versus 22), a greater number of axilla–groin scale rows (80–83 versus 73), and fewer number of supraciliaries (5 versus 6); from B. ligtas by having a longer fore-limb length (1.4–2.2 mm versus 1.2– 1.4), fewer number of presacral vertebrae (49 versus 50), a greater number of midbody scale rows (24, 25 versus 22), a greater number of axilla–groin scale rows (80–83 versus 74–76), a greater number of paravertebral scale rows (97–101 versus 91–93), and by the absence (versus presence) of a 3rd chin shield pair; from B. mapalanggaon by having a longer fore-limb (1.4–2.2 mm versus 0.8–1.0) and hind limb length (1.9–2.2 mm versus 1.2–1.6), fewer number of presacral vertebrae (49 versus 51), and a greater number of midbody scale rows (24, 25 versus 22, 23); from B. tridactylus by having a shorter hind limb length (1.9–2.2 mm versus 2.6–3.6), a greater number of presacral vertebrae (49 versus 47), a greater number of axilla–groin scale rows (80–83 versus 72–79), and by the absence (versus presence) of a 3rd chin shield pair. Brachymeles dalawangdaliri sp. nov. can be distinguished from all limbless species of Brachymeles by having limbs, and from all pentadactyl species of Brachymeles by having bidactyl fore-limbs and digitless, unidactyl, or bidactyl hind limbs. |
Comment | Habitat: Presumably, Brachymeles dalawangdaliri sp. nov. once occurred in primary growth forest; however, little to no primary forest remains on Tablas Island. Abundance: This species has never been observed in high densities, a pattern consistent with many members of the B. bonitae complex. Furthermore, no recent collections of this species have been made, with the last documented observation of B. dalawangdaliri sp. nov. in the wild occurring more than four decades ago (see also Meiri et al. 2017). Sympatry: B. talinis (Siler & Brown 2010). |
Etymology | The name of the new species presented in this paper is derived from the Tagalog (Filipino) terms ‘dalawa,’ meaning two, and ‘daliri,’ meaning finger, referencing one of the defining characteristics of the new species, the two digits on the fore-limbs. |
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