Scincella ouboteri PHAM, PHAM, LE, NGOC, ZIEGLER & NGUYEN, 2024
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Scincella ouboteri
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Ouboter’s Smooth Skink Vietnamese: Thằn lằn cổ ouboter |
| Synonym | Scincella ouboteri PHAM, PHAM, LE, NGOC, ZIEGLER & NGUYEN 2024: 96 |
| Distribution | Vietnam (Hoa Binh) Type locality: karst forest near Cho Village (20o25.457’N, 105o19.096’E, at an elevation of 409 m a.s.l.), Tu Do Commune, within Ngoc Son–Ngo Luong Nature Reserve, Lac Son District, Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. IEBR R.5042 (field number HB 2014.166), adult male, collected on 8 October 2014 by T.Q. Nguyen, C.T. Pham, M.D. Le, and H.N. Ngo. Paratypes. IEBR R.5043 (field number HB 2014.165), adult male, IEBR R.5044 (HB 2014.167), adult male, IEBR R.5045 (HB 2014.173), adult male, IEBR R.5046 (HB 2014.178), adult male, IEBR R.5047 (HB 2014.168), adult female, IEBR R.5048 (HB 2014.174), adult female, IEBR R.5049 (HB 2014.175), adult female, IEBR R.5050 (HB 2014.176), adult female, and IEBR R.5051 (HB 2014.177), adult female, bear the same data as the holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The new species can be distinguished from other species of Scincella by a combination of the following characteristics: size medium (SVL up to 58.6 mm); primary temporals 2; external ear opening present, with 3 or 4 lobules on anterior margin; loreals 2; supralabials 7; infralabials 6 or 7; nuchals in 2–4 pairs; midbody scales in 30–32 rows; dorsal scales smooth, in 6 rows across the back; paravertebral scales 65–73, not widened; ventral scales in 65–71 rows; 10–12 smooth lamellae beneath finger IV and 18–20 beneath toe IV; toes overlapping fingers when limbs adpressed along body; dorsal surface of body and tail bronze brown with a black vertebral stripe, in width of two dorsal scales, two bright dorsolateral stripes from behind the head to middle of tail, a dark stripe running from nostril to eye and extending from posterior corner of eye along upper part of flank and tail. Description of holotype: Size medium (SVL 43.5 mm, TaL 74.2 mm, SVL/TaL 0.58); head longer than wide (HL 8.35 mm, Hw 6.17 mm, SVL/HL 5.21); snout obtuse, round anteriorly; rostral wider than high, distinctly visible from above; supranasals absent; frontonasal wider than long, in contact with rostral, nasals, anterior loreals, and frontal; prefrontals not in contact with each other; frontal narrowing posteriorly, about 1.1 times longer than the distance to the tip of snout, in contact with prefrontals, first and second supraoculars, and frontoparietals; frontoparietals in contact with each other anteriorly, bordered by frontal, three supraoculars, parietals, and interparietal; interparietal lozenge- shaped with indistinct transparent spot posteriorly; parietals in contact posteriorly, posterolateral border surrounded by three scales on each side; nuchal scales in two pairs; nostril in center of nasal, in contact with rostral, frontonasal, loreal, first supralabial; loreals 2, anterior loreal higher but narrower than posterior one; preocular 1; presuboculars 2, in contact with lower preocular, third and fourth supralabials; supraciliaries 7; supraoculars 4, the first longest, the second widest, fourth supraocular followed by a small postsupraocular; postoculars 3, anterior one in contact with seventh supraciliary, postsupraocular, and upper postsubocular; postsuboculars 2, lower one in contact with sixth supralabial; primary temporals 2, lower one in contact with sixth and seventh supralabials; secondary temporals 2, upper very large, in contact with posterolateral, border of parietal, overlapped by lower one; lower eyelid with an undivided opaque window (central disc), separated from supralabials by 3 rows of granular scales; supralabials 7, fifth below the eye; external ear opening present, anterior margin with 4 distinct lobules, tympanum deeply sunk; mental wider than long, round anteriorly, in contact with anterior infralabials and postmental; infralabials 6, first small; postmental undivided, in contact with mental, first and anterior portion of second infralabials on each side, and first pair of chinshields; chinshields in 3 pairs, first pair in contact with each other medially, second pair separated from each other by a gular scale, and third pair separated from each other by 3 scales; midbody scales in 32 rows; dorsal scales smooth, in 6 rows across the back; paravertebral scales 65, not widened; ventral scales smooth, in 66 rows; precloacals 4, inner scales overlapping outer ones, central two enlarged, left one overlapped by right one; tail thick at base, medial subcaudals widened vertical length of tail. Limbs relatively developed (SVL/flL 3.77, SVL/HlL 2.67), pentadactyl, dorsal surface of digits covered by two scale rows on basal and by a single row on terminal phalanges; subdigital lamellae keeled, in one row under the digits, 10 under fourth finger and 18 under fourth toe; toes and fingers overlapping when adpressed along body, adpressed forelimb reaching to eye (fig. 4, Table 3). Coloration in life: Dorsal surface of body and tail bronze brown with a black vertebral stripe, in width of two dorsal scales, extending from nuchal region to tail base, discontinuous posteriorly; two bright dorsolateral stripes from behind the head to middle of tail; a dark stripe running from nostril to eye and extending from posterior margin of eye along upper part of flank and tail; lateral side of the head and flank with white spots; lower part of flank and tail base reddish brown; chin, throat and venter cream, outer edge of ventral scales dark grey, forming a network; underside of fore and hind limbs brown; ventral surface of tail greyish cream (figs. 3, 4). Variation: Prefrontals are in contact with each other in seven paratypes (IEBR R.5043–5049). The paratype IEBR R.5047 has an external ear opening with three auricular lobules. The paratype IEBR R.5046 has 30 midbody scale rows. Nuchal scales in 3 pairs in four paratypes (IEBR R.5044, 5047–5049), 3/2 in two paratypes (IEBR R.5043, 5046), and 4 pairs in one paratype (IEBR R.5045). (Pham et al. 2024) Additional details (5777 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Paul E. Ouboter, Institute for Neotropical wildlife and Environmental Studies (Suriname), who provided the first comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus Scincella of Asia. |
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