Nannoscincus manautei SADLIER, BAUER, WHITAKER & SMITH, 2004
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Nannoscincus manautei
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Nannoscincus manautei SADLIER, BAUER, WHITAKER & SMITH 2004 Nannoscincus manautae — SADLIER et al. 2014: 54 (in error) |
| Distribution | New Caledonia Type locality: New Caledonia, Province Nord, Massif de Kopéto, Papainda, 21°10 elevation 800 m). |
| Reproduction | oviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 2003.1001 (formerly AMS R163229): Adult female, collected by A.H. Whitaker and V.A. Whitaker, 25 October 2002. Paratype: AMS R163123: Adult female; same locality and collectors as holotype, 22 June 2002 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Nannoscincus manautei sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other members of the genus by the following combination of characters: frontoparietals fused; loreal single; left oviduct lost in females; lower labials five; lower eyelid with a semitranslucent window; ear opening minute; body scales smooth; adult dorsal color uniform brown; ear opening positioned three scales posterior to lower secondary temporal; longitudinal scale rows around the body 18–20; pre- sacral vertebrae 32–33; phalangeal formula for pes 2.3.4.4.3. The first five characters readily distinguish N. manauteifrom N. gracilis, N. slevini, and a new species from Pic Ningua in the southern ultramafic block, all of which have divided frontoparietals, two loreals (the anterior semilunar and usually failing to contact the labials), a right and left oviduct, and a ‘scaled’lower eyelid. Nannoscincus manautei shares the apomorphic character states of a single loreal, loss of the left oviduct, and reduction to five lower labials with a group of six other species (N. mariei; N. greeri; N. rankini; N. humectus, N. hanchisteus, and N. exos). Three species, N. humectus, N. hanchisteus, and N. exos, have smooth body scales like N. manautei. The relatively uniform adult coloration of N. manautei, lacking obvious differentiation between dorsal and lateral surfaces, distinguishes it from these species, all of which are noticeably two-toned in having a distinctly lighter dorsal and darker lateral surface. Nannoscincus manautei can be further distinguished from N. hanchisteusand N. exosby the positioning of the ear opening three (vs two) scales posterior to the lower secondary temporal, and from N. humectus by having fewer lamellae beneath the 4thtoe (12–13 vs 15–19) and fewer longitudinal scale rows around the body (18–20 vs 20–24). The smooth body scales of N. manautei will distinguish it from N. greeri, N. mariei, andN. rankiniall of which have 3–4 fine striations down the body scales. Nannoscincus manautei most closely resembles N. marieiand N. rankini, both of which are relatively uniformly colored as adults. It can be further distinguished from N. mariei by the presence of a “windowed” (vs “scaled”) lower eyelid, fused (vs paired) frontoparietals, and the presence of a small external ear opening (lacking in N. mariei), and from N. rankini by the positioning of the ear opening three (vs two) scales posterior to the lower secondary temporal and in having fewer longitudinal scale rows around body (18–20 vs 22–24). |
| Comment | Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet honors a friend and colleague of the authors, Joseph Manauté, now of the Direction des Resources Naturelles de la Province Sud (Service des Parcs et Réserves Terrestres). |
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