Abstract
A new species of Lygosomine skink (Jarujinia bipedalis sp. nov.) from Suan Pung District, Ratchaburi Province in Central Thailand is described and assigned to a new monotypic genus (Jarujinia). This bipedal skink with only forearms possessing two clawless vestigial fingers appears morphologically to be an evolutionary link between the Lygosomine genera of Larutia and Isopachys, but clearly distinct from both.
Key words: new genus, new species, Jarujinia, Lygosomine.
Jarujinia bipedalis
Chan-ard, Makchai & Cota 2011
Holotype. - THNHM 15410
Type locality: Ban Pu Nam Ron, Tambon Pong Kra Ting, Suan Pung District, Ratchaburi Province, elevation ca. 600 m
Distribution: Thailand (Western mountain range in Ban Pu Nam Ron, Tambon Pong Kra Ting, Suan Pung District, Ratchaburi Province, ca. 150 km west-southwest of Bangkok)
Diagnosis: The only scincine genus (and species) in which a single species has only forelimbs with two clawless vestigial fingers and in which the hind-limbs are completely absent.
Etymology.- The genus is named for Dr. Jarujin Nabhitabhata (1950-2008), first Director of the Thailand Natural History Museum, to whom we owe much professional and personal gratitude. The species is named for its character of only possessing a pair of forelimbs: two legs are present, but the hind-limbs are absent.
Chan-ard, Tanya; Sunchai Makchai and Michael Cota. 2011. Jarujinia: A New Genus of Lygosomine Lizard from Central Thailand, with a Description of One New Species. The Thailand Natural History Museum Journal .5 (1): 17-24
