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Plestiodon elegans (BOULENGER, 1887)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Shanghai Elegant Skink
Chinese: 蓝尾石龙子 
SynonymEumeces elegans BOULENGER 1887: 371
Mabouia chinensis — SWINHOE 1863 (fide STEJNEGER 1907)
Eumeces pulchra BOCOURT 1879 (fide STEJNEGER 1907)
Eumeces elegans — BOULENGER 1899: 162
Eumeces elegans — STEJNEGER 1907: 202
Eumeces elegans — TAYLOR 1936: 245
Eumeces elegans — ZHAO & ADLER 1993
Eumeces elegans — GRIFFITH, NGO & MURPHY 2000
Plestiodon elegans — SCHMITZ et al. 2004
Eumeces elegans — GORIS & MAEDA 2004
Plestiodon elegans — WANG et al. 2022
Plestodion elegans — YANG et al. 2023 (in error) 
DistributionS China (westward to Yunnan, northward through Sichuan to S Henan, Fujian, Hunan), Vietnam,
Taiwan
Japan (Senkaku group, S Ryukyu islands)

Type locality: China  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: BMNH 54.2.10.1-4, Ningpo, China, purchased H. Cuming; 58.10.19.132-133, Chikiang, China, purchased H. Cuming; 59.12.20.5-6, Formosa, collected by R. Swinhoe; 70.1.14.14-17, Pescadoro I., collected by R. Swinhoe; 74.1.16.72, Shanghai, collected by R. Swinhoe; 74.1.16.74, Shangai, collected R. Swinhoe; 80.2.17.6, Kiukiang Mts, China, collected by C. Maries; 86.12.8.2-5, Snowy Valley, Ningpo, China, presented J.H. Leech. Type series also includes, by bibliographic reference, specimens examined by Hallowell (1860) and identified as Plestiodon pulchrum. The citation by Boulenger of material identified by Günther (1864) as Mabouia chinensis refers to the first eight syntypes listed above. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Taylor 1936: 245 
CommentPlate 29G in ZHAO & ADLER 1993.

Distribution: Map: KURITA & HIKIDA 2014: 188 
EtymologyThe name elegans (Latin) means tasteful, choice, fine, select or elegant and appears to refer to the color pattern. 
References
  • Blackburn, D.G. 1993. STANDARDIZED CRITERIA FOR THE RECOGNITION OF REPRODUCTIVE MODES IN SQUAMATE REPTILES. Herpetologica 49 (1): 118-132 - get paper here
  • Bobrov V.V., Semenov D.V. 2008. Lizards of Vietnam [in Russian]. Moscow, 236 pp.
  • Bobrov, V. V. 1995. Checklist and bibliography of lizards of Vietnam. Smithsonian Herp. Inf. Serv. (105): - get paper here
  • Bocourt, M. F. 1879. Etudes sur les reptiles, p. i-xiv, 1-1012. In Recherches Zoologiques pour servir a l'Histoire de Ia Faune de l'Amérique Centrale et du Mexique. Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique Centrale, Recherches zoologiques. Part 2, sect. 1; In A Imprimerie Impériale, Paris [3, Pt. 6], pp. 360–440. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1887. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London: 575 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, GEORGE A. 1899. On a collection of reptiles and batrachians made by Mr. J. D. La Touche in N.W. Fokien, China. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1899: 159-172 - get paper here
  • BRANDLEY, MATTHEW C.; OTA, HIDETOSHI; HIKIDA, TSUTOMU; NIETO MONTES DE OCA, ADRIAN; FERIA-ORTIZ, MANUEL; GUO, XIANGUANG; WANG, YUEZHAO 2012. The phylogenetic systematics of blue-tailed skinks (Plestiodon) and the family Scincidae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 165 (1): 163-189 - get paper here
  • Chen, Yang; Zhao, Jinming; Diaz, Raul E; Lyu, Nan. 2019. Development of sexual dimorphism in two sympatric skinks with different growth rates. Ecology and Evolution 9 (13): 7752-7760
  • GAO, ZHIWEI; TIANYU QIAN, JIANPING JIANG, DEJIA HOU, XUEJIAN DENG & DAODE YANG. 2022. Species diversity and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Hunan Province, China. Biodiversity Science 30 (2): 21290, 1–15 - get paper here
  • Goris, R.C. & Maeda, N. 2004. Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan. Krieger, Malabar, 285 pp.
  • Greer, A. E. 1986. Lygosomine (Scincidae) monophyly: a third, corroborating character and a reply to critics. Journal of Herpetology 20 (1): 123-126 - get paper here
  • Griffith, H., A. Ngo & R. W. Murphy 2000. A cladistic evaluation of the cosmopolitan genus Eumeces Wiegmann (Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 7 (1): 1-16 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H-J., Kabisch, K. & Kühnel, K.-D. 1995. Amphibien- und Reptilienbeobachtungen in einigen chinesischen Großstädten. Internationales Symposium für Vivaristik 1995., Mensch-Tier-Umwelt in Lindabrunn (NÖ) Dokumentation: 24-34
  • Hikida T 1989. The Ryukyu Blue-tailed Skink, Eumeces marginatus Not Distributed in Taiwan. Journal of Taiwan Museum 42 (1): 81-88 - get paper here
  • Hikida T. & Ota H. 1997. Biogeography of reptiles in the subtropical East Asian Islands. Proc. Symposium Phylogeny, Biogeography Cons. Fauna Flora East Asian Region, pp. 11-28
  • Hikida, T. & Motokawa, J. 1999. Phylogeographical relationships of the skinks of the genus Eumeces (Reptilia; Scincidae) in East Asia. in: Ota, H. (ed.) Tropical Island Herpetofauna, pp. 231-247 - get paper here
  • Huang, Wen-San 1996. Sexual size dimorphism in the five-striped blue-tailed skink, Eumeces elegans, with notes on its life history in Taiwan. Zoological Studies 35 (3): 188-194
  • Kurita, Kazuki and Tsutomu Hikida 2014. Divergence and Long-Distance Overseas Dispersals of Island Populations of the Ryukyu Five-Lined Skink, Plestiodon Marginatus (Scincidae: Squamata), in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, as Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeography. Zoological Science 31, No. 4: 187-194. - get paper here
  • Liu-Yu, M.C. 1970. Studies on Taiwan lizards. Biol. Bull. Taiwan Normal Univ. 5: 51-93
  • Lue, Kuang-Yang;Chen, Szu-Lung;Chang, Wei-Sah 1992. Notes on the reptiles collected from the offshore islets of Penghu Archipelago. Journal of Taiwan Museum 45 (1): 15-18
  • Mao, J.J. et al. 2008. A blue tail and golden stripes are not necessarily an indication of immaturity in female Eumeces elegans in Taiwan. Sauria 30 (1): 51-54 - get paper here
  • Nguyen, S.V., Ho, C.T. and Nguyen, T.Q. 2009. Herpetofauna of Vietnam. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 768 pp.
  • NORVAL, G. & J.-J. MAO 2010. Records of Eutropis longicaudata and Plestiodon elegans as Prey of Dinodon rufozonatum rufozonatum in Chiayi County, Taiwan. [in German]. Sauria 32 (2): 63-65 - get paper here
  • Norval, Gerrut; Jean-Jay Mao and Kerry Slater. 2012. Description of an observed interaction between an elegant skink (Plestiodon elegans) and a brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) in southwestern Taiwan. Herpetology Notes 6: 189-192
  • Norval, Gerrut; Stephen R. Goldberg, Charles R. Bursey, Jean-Jay Mao, and Kerry Slater 2014. Internal Parasites of Lizards from Taiwan. Herp. Cons. Biol. 9 (3): 484−494 - get paper here
  • Okamoto, Taku 2016. Historical Biogeography of the Terrestrial Reptiles of Japan: A Comparative Analysis of Geographic Ranges and Molecular Phylogenies. Species Diversity of Animals in Japan, pp 135-163; DOI<br />10.1007/978-4-431-56432-4_5 - get paper here
  • Ota, H. 2004. Notes on reproduction and variation in the blue-tailed lizard, Eumeces elegans (Reptilia: Scincidae), on Kita-kojima Island of the Senkaku Group, Ryukyu Archipelago. Current Herpetology 23 (1): 37-42 - get paper here
  • Schmitz, Andreas; Patrick Mausfeld and Dirk Embert 2004. Molecular studies on the genus Eumeces Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications. Hamadryad 28 (1-2): 73 – 89 - get paper here
  • Stejneger, L. 1898. On a collection of batrachians and reptiles from Formosa and Adjacent Islands. J. Coll. Sci. Univ. Tokyo 12: 215-225 - get paper here
  • Stejneger, L. 1910. The batrachians and reptiles of Formosa. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 38: 91-114 - get paper here
  • Stejneger, LEONHARD H. 1907. Herpetology of Japan and adjacent territory. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 58: xx, 1-577 - get paper here
  • Swinhoe,R. 1863. A list of the Formosan reptiles; with notes on a few of the species, and some remarks on a fish (Orthagoriscus, sp.). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 12: 219-226 - get paper here
  • Taylor, E. H. 1936. A taxonomic study of the cosmopolitan lizards of the genus Eumeces with an account of the distribution and relationship of its species. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 23 (14): 1-643 [1935] - get paper here
  • Toyama, Masanao 1988. Distribution of the Genus Eumeces (Scincidae: Lacertilia) in the Ryukyu Archipelago. In Current Herpetology in East Asia, edited by M. Matsui, T. Hikida, and R.C. Goris. Proceedings of the Second Japan-China Herpetological Symposium, Kyoto, 521 pages.
  • Wang K, Lyu ZT, Wang J, Qi S, Che J 2022. Updated Checklist and Zoogeographic Division of the Reptilian Fauna of Yunnan Province, China. Biodiversity Science 30 (4): 21326, 1–31 - get paper here
  • Wang, C. G. M. Z. X., Jia, S. Y. K. T. L., & Hu, C. Z. J. 2022. An updated species checklist of amphibians and reptiles in Fujian Province, China. Biodiversity Science, 22090 - get paper here
  • Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here
  • Yang, C., Chen, S., & Wang, J. 2023. Ontogenetic color change in the tail of blue-tailed skinks (Plestodion elegans). Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10152 - get paper here
  • Zhao,E. & Adler,K. 1993. Herpetology of China. SSAR, Oxford/Ohio, 1-522
 
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