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An Enigmatic Lygosoma (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from Northern Myanmar

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An Enigmatic Lygosoma (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from Northern Myanmar ARTICLES 373 SMITH, G. R., AND J. B. IVERSON. 1993. Reactions to odor trails in bull- WILLIAMS, K. E., K. E. HODGES, AND C. A. BISHOP. 2012. Small reserves snakes. J. Herpetol. 27:333–335. around hibernation sites may not adequately protect mobile TURNER, F. B. 1977. The dynamics of populations of squamates, croco- snakes: the example of Great Basin gophersnakes (Pituophis dilians and rhynchocephalians. In C. Gans and D. W. Tinkle (eds.), catenifer deserticola) in British Columbia. Can. J. Zool. 90:304–312. Biology of the Reptilia, Vol. 7, pp. 157–264. Academic Press, New WOODBURY, A. M. ET AL. 1951. Symposium: A snake den in Tooele Coun- York. ty, Utah. Herpetologica 7:1–52. VETAS, B. 1951. Symposium: A snake den in Tooele County, Utah: tem- ———. 1951. Symposium: A snake den in Tooele County, Utah: intro- peratures of entrance and emergence. Herpetologica 7:15–20. duction—a ten year study. Herpetologica 7:4–14. WALLACE, R. L., AND L. V. DILLER. 2001. Variation in emergence, egress, ———. 1956. Uses of marking animals in ecological studies: marking and ingress among life-history stages and sexes of Crotalus viridis amphibians and reptiles. Ecology 37:670-674. oreganus in northern Idaho. J. Herpetol. 35:583–589. ———, AND R. M. HANSEN. 1950. A snake den in Tintic Mountains, WILGERS, D. J., AND E. A. HORNE. 2007. Spatial variation in predation Utah. Herpetologica 6:66–70. attempts on artificial snakes in a fire-disturbed tallgrass prairie. ———, AND D. D. PARKER. 1956. A snake den in Cedar Mountains and Southwest. Nat. 52:263–270. notes on snakes and parasitic mites. Herpetologica 12:261–268. Herpetological Review, 2016, 47(3), 373–374. © 2016 by Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles An Enigmatic Lygosoma (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from Northern Myanmar Four species of Writhing Skinks (Lygosoma) have been P. pulverulentus specimen was found in a bush above a stream at reported from Myanmar (Geissler et al. 2012). None are 2229 h, but the partly digested status of the skink suggests that it commonly seen owing to their occupancy of the interface had been consumed days earlier. between the soil and surface litter. Specifically in Myanmar, the Based on its external morphology, our Kachin specimen geographic and ecological distribution of Lygosoma remains is not Lygosoma haroldyoungi or any other of the Lygosoma poorly documented. While examining Burmese Psammodynastes species in Myanmar or Southeast Asia (Fig. 1). The specimen is pulverulentus (Boie, 1827) for prey content, we discovered a only partially available for morphological analysis because the small skink (CAS 259393) in one of the specimens (CAS 240982). anterior half of the specimen has been digested. Since molecular Our initial identification assumed that it represented Lygosoma data cannot be accurately obtained from the specimen within haroldyoungi (Taylor, 1962) owing to the distinct transverse banding on the tail, but its meristic characters have led us to believe it is distinct. Since the specimen is partially digested and only the lower half of the specimen remains, we tentatively label it Lygosoma cf. haroldyoungi to denote its superficial similarity to this taxon. Lygosoma haroldyoungi is a primarily sub-fossorial species, a large factor why records are so limited. Active during the day, L. haroldyoungi has been documented to be relatively tolerant of human development and has been found in a variety of habitats ranging from agricultural lands to caves entrances (Teynie and David 2010) in tropical dry semi-deciduous forests. This species has been proposed to inhabit Myanmar and nearby Cambodia (Chuaynkern et al. 2013). L. haroldyoungi is distinct from the other Lygosoma of Southeast Asia due its most defining morphological trait, the bands around the tail (Das et al. 2010), making the species unique and easy to identify. The Psammodynastes pulverulentus specimen was collected on 7 July 2008, in the Myitkyina district of the Kachin State, within the Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (24.96205°N, 96.34236°E). The ARYEH H. MILLER e-mail: [email protected] GEORGE R. ZUG Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museum of Natural History—Smithsonian Institution, th 10 St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20560, USA; FIG. 1. Map identifying the origin of the new Lygosoma and the e-mail: [email protected] nearest record of Lygosoma haroldyoungi. Herpetological Review 47(3), 2016 374 ARTICLES from our Kachin Lygosoma by having 22 midbody scales (vs. 10 in our Kachin specimen) and 8–10 fourth toe lamellae (vs. 15 in our Kachin specimen). Lygosoma boehmei Ziegler, Schmitz, Heidrich, Vu and Nguyen, 2007 of central Vietnam falls in a similar range of meristic characters with 14 fourth toe lamellae and 32 midbody scale rows (Ziegler et al. 2007), but fails to share key morphological characters such as transverse banding on the tail, and no keeled scales. Of the four species of Lygosoma (L. popae, L. anguina, L. bowringii, and L. lineolatum) known from Myanmar, none match our specimen. Without the anterior half, which would provide us with vital head scale characters, we cannot identify the Kachin specimen with certainty. Therefore we are reporting it as a new FIG. 2. Dorsal view of undigested portion of the Lygosoma specimen Lygosoma species from Myanmar. (CAS 259393) from the Kachin Psammodynastes pulverulentus (CAS 240982). Acknowledgments.—The snake and lizard reported herein were collected by the Myanmar Herpetological Survey team, sponsored our scope and budget, we offer the following data. Our Kachin by the NSF – The National Science Foundation Biodiversity Surveys specimen (CAS 259393; Fig. 2) has a total tail length of 56 mm, & Inventories program (DEB-9972861 and DEB-0451832). NSF sup- with the unregenerated portion being 47.5 mm. The undigested ported our (herpetological staffs – California Academy of Sciences & National Museum of Natural History and Myanmar Wildlife Con- portion of the body is 30 mm. The hind limb is 23.9 mm. There servation Division) all-country survey of the Burmese herpetofauna are 33 midbody scale rows, 15 fourth toe lamellae, 5 fourth from 1999 to 2010, for which we are most grateful. Similarly, logis- finger lamellae and a digital formulae of 4>3>5>2>1. Both the tic and administrative support by the Myanmar Nature and Wildlife dorsal and ventral scales are smooth. No scales are keeled. The Conservation Division, Department of Forestry made our surveys transverse banding begins immediately at the anterior base of possible. Map image extracted from Google Earth 26 Dec 2015; we the tail, eleven thin but complete tan bands wrap around the thank Google for permission to use this image. We thank D. G. Mulca- tail. One incomplete faded band rests immediately anterior to hy for comments improving the manuscript, also J. V. Vindum and the vent on the body. The venter is a uniform cream coloration, the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) for access to specimens in which continues onto the tail. The dorsal coloration of the trunk the Academy’s herpetological collection. is an alternating shades of brown and mahogany. The sex is undetermined. Comparisons.—We include comparisons to the known four LITERATURE CITED species of Lygosoma that have been documented in Myanmar, and a comparison to L. haroldyoungi due to its morphological CHUAYNKERN, Y., P. DUENGKAE, C. CHUAYNKERN, A. TANOMTONG, AND I. PATAWA- similarities. NG. 2013. Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae, Lygosoma haroldyoungi From L. haroldyoungi, our specimen has 33 midbody scale (Taylor, 1962): New distribution records. Checklist 9(1):118–120. rows, L. haroldyoungi has 38–42 (Geissler et al. 2012). The Kachin DAS, I. 2010. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia. London, New Holland Publisher, Ltd. 376 pp. specimen also has a significantly higher subdigital lamellae GEISSLER, P., T. Q. NGUYEN, T. M. PHUNG, R. W. VAN DEVENDER, T. HARTMANN, count under the fourth toe (15) than L. haroldyoungi (6–7). L. B. FARKAS, T. ZEIGLER, AND W. BÖHME. 2011. A review of Indochinese haroldyoungi shares the unique transverse banding seen on skinks of the genus Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 (Squamata: our specimen, the only species of Southeast Asian Lygosoma to Scincidae), with natural history notes and an identification key. possess this character. A major geographic gap exists in between Biologia 66/6:1159–1176. the Kachin Lygosoma and the nearest recorded occurrence of ———, T. HARTMANN, AND T. NEANG. 2012. A new species of the genus L. haroldyoungi (Fig. 1). The nearest record of L. haroldyoungi Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Scincidae) from (Chuaynkern et al. 2013: fig. 3) is in Thailand’s Chiang Mai northeastern Cambodia, with an updated identification key to the Province, more than 600 km south of the Indawgyi Lake Wildlife genus Lygosoma in mainland Southeast Asia. Zootaxa 3190:56–68. Sanctuary. SHREVE, B. 1940. Reptiles and amphibians from Burma with descrip- tions of three new skinks. Proceedings of the New England Zoö- Lygosoma popae (Shreve, 1940) differs from our Kachin logical Club, Vol. XVIII, pp. 17–26. specimen by its significantly lower fourth toe lamellae (Shreve MORAVEC, J., AND W. BÖHME. 2008. First record of Riopa haroldyoungi 1940) count of 7. L. popae also has longitudinal stripes extending from Laos. Herpetol. Notes 1:9–10. onto the tail. L. popae comes from a notably higher elevation of TEYNIE, A., AND P. DAVID. 2010. Les reptiles [Voyages naturalistes au 1250 m on the outskirts of Mt. Popa, in contrast to our specimen Laos]. Chamalieres: 112. [Not seen] recorded at 326 m. The dry evergreen forests of Mt. Popa contrast the habitat and precipitation of northeastern Myanmar, where rainfall reaches greater than 2000 mm annually. Lygosoma anguinum (Theobald, 1868) shows little resemblance of our specimen in almost all aspects. L. anguinum has 22 midbody scales and 6–9 fourth toe lamellae, and a complete absence of any banding on body and tail.
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