Brachymeles ilocandia SILER, DAVIS, FREITAS, HURON, GEHEBER, WATTERS, PENROD, PAPES, AMREIN, ANWAWR, COOPER HEIN, MANNING, PATEL, PINAROC, DIESMOS, DIESMOS, OLIVEROS & BROWN, 2016
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Brachymeles ilocandia
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Ilokano Slender Skink |
| Synonym | Brachymeles ilocandia SILER, DAVIS, FREITAS, HURON, GEHEBER, WATTERS, PENROD, PAPES, AMREIN, ANWAWR, COOPER HEIN, MANNING, PATEL, PINAROC, DIESMOS, DIESMOS, OLIVEROS & BROWN 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 (Cagayan Province, Camiguin Norte Island, Luzon) Type locality: Sitio Kauringan, Barangay Balatubat, Municipality of Calayan, Cagayan Province, Camiguin Norte Island, Philippines (18.902° N, 121.908° E; WGS 84; 303 m elev |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: PNM 9819 (RMB Field No. 7324, formerly KU 308004), adult female, collected under a decaying log in secondary-growth forest on 10 February 2007 by J. Fernandez. Paratypes (Paratopotypes). One adult female (KU 307967), collected on 8 February 2006 in Sitio Kauringan, Barangay Balatubat, Municipality of Calayan, Cagayan Province, Camiguin Norte Island, Philippines, by J. Fernandez and RMB. Four adult females, collected under a decaying log in secondary-growth forest on 11 February 2007 (KU 308019, 308020), 12 February 2007 (KU 308027), and 14 February 2007 (KU 308030) in Sitio Kauringan, Barangay Balatubat, Municipality of Calayan, Cagayan Province, Camiguin Norte Island, Philippines, by J. Fernandez and C. Oliveros. Paratypes. One adult female (CAS 61377), collected in 1920 in Nayon, Ifugao Subprovince, Mountain Province, Luzon Island, Philippines. One adult female (FMNH 259449), collected on 10 March 2001 in Kalinga Province, Luzon Island, Philippines, by RMB and ACD. One adult female (KU 304567), collected on 5 March 2006 in “Limandok,” Barangay Balatabat, Municipality of Calayan, Cagayan Province, Camiguin Norte Island, Philippines (18.92927° N, 121.89881° E; WGS 84; 403 m elev.), by J. Fernandez and RMB. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Following recent taxonomic revisions of Brachymeles (Siler et al. 2011; Davis et al. 2014; Geheber et al. 2016) 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 ilocandia sp. nov. can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) body size small (SVL 65.7–77.6 mm), (2) limbs digitless, (3) limb length short, (4) supralabials six, (5) infralabials five or six, (6) supraciliaries five, (7) supraoculars four, (8) midbody scale rows 22–24, (9) axilla– groin scale rows 80–82, (10) paravertebral scale rows 97–100, (11) mental/first infralabial fusion present or absent, (12) prefrontal contact absent or in point contact, (13) frontoparietal contact present, (14) enlarged chin shields in three pairs, (15) nuchals enlarged, (16) auricular opening absent, (17) presacral vertebrae 50–53, and (18) uniform body color (Tables 1, 2). |
| Comment | Habitat: The new species likely once occurred in low- to mid-elevation primary forest habitats; however, all recent observations of this species have occurred in secondary growth forest habitats. In contrast to the other members of the B. bonitae complex, this species appears to be quite common in secondary growth forest fragments throughout the northern Philippines. Sympatry: Brachymeles ilocandia sp. nov. is found in parts of its distribution with B. bicolor, B. kadwa, and B. boulengeri. Other species of Brachymeles known to occur in the Luzon PAIC include B. bicolandia, B. bonitae, B. brevidactylus, B. cobos, B. elerae, B. isangdaliri, B. kadwa, B. lukbani, B. makusog, B. minimus, B. muntingkamay, and B. wrighti (Davis et al. 2014). |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is chosen in reference to the biogeographically and culturally distinct homeland, “Ilocandia”, of the Ilokano people of the northern Philippines, the third largest ethnolinguistic group in the country. Including the Babuyan Island Group north of Luzon Island, Ilocandia stretches from the western coast of northern Luzon, across the Cagayan Valley, to parts of central Luzon and the boundaries of Aurora Province in the east. The region is home to many endemic vertebrates, diverse geographic landscape, unique local cuisine, and rich cultural traditions. |
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