Ophiomorus kardesi KORNILIOS, KUMLUTAS, LYMBERAKIS & ILGAZ, 2018
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Ophiomorus kardesi
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Anatolian Limbless Skink |
| Synonym | Ophiomorus kardesi KORNILIOS, KUMLUTAS, LYMBERAKIS & ILGAZ 2018 Ophiomorus punctatissimus — EISELT 1965 Ophiomorus punctatissimus — ARLOND & OVENDEN 2004: 272 Ophiomorus punctatissimus — BARAN et al. 2012: 204 Ophiomorus punctatissimus — SINDACO & JEREMCENKO 2008 Ophiomorus punctatissimus — VALAKOS et al., 2008 Ophiomorus punctatissimus Clade B — POULAKAKIS et al. 2008 Ophiomorus kardesi — SPEYBROECK et al. 2020 |
| Distribution | S Turkey Type locality: Sıcak Yarımadası, Kas, Antalya, Turkey |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: ZDEU 45/2009, male, leg. Y. Kumlutas, 27.04.2009. Paratypes: NHMC, ZDEU |
| Diagnosis | An elongated limbless skink that can be identified from all other Ophiomorus species (except O. puncatissimus) by having a rounded snout, no limbs, 18 scale rows at midbody (sometimes 20), small pre-frontals separated from supralabials, frontonasal half or less than half as long as the frontal (Anderson & Leviton, 1966; Greer & Wilson, 2001). Differential diagnosis: It can be distinguished from O. punctatissimus on the basis of geographic distribution and unique nucleotide composition of the mitochondrial gene CO1 (barcode segment) and three nuclear loci PRLR, C-MOS, and NT3. Specifically, all O. kardesi sp. nov. individuals are exclusively distributed in southwest Turkey and adjoining Turkish and Greek islands (see Distribution below), with the closest related species O. punctatissimus and O. latastii found, respectively, in south Greece (>500 km air distance in the west) and the Levant (>500 km air distance in the southeast). Ophiomorus kardesi sp. nov. corresponds to the East clade of the current study (Figures 2 and 3) and the mtDNA clade B of Poulakakis et al. (2008). The consensus DNA barcode sequence (CO1) for O. kardesi sp. nov. is found in Table S4, together with the respective sequence for the sister species O. punctatissimus. In this Table, the forty-eight simple nucleotide diagnostic characters between the two consensus sequences are highlighted. |
| Comment | Distribution: also on the islands of Kastellorizo and possibly on the neighboring islands of Ro and Strongyli (off the Turkish coast but belonging to Greece). |
| Etymology | The species epithet is a genitive noun of the Turkish word “kardes” which means sibling, brother, sister, or best friend. As a word, it is used in both Turkey and Greece with the same meaning. It is used here to highlight the sibling-species relationship between the new species and O. punctatissimus, to emphasize the past and contemporary role of the Aegean Sea as cradle of speciation and to mark a decade of collaboration and friendship among the authors. |
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