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| B, Plestiodon toyamai sp. nov., holotype, subadult male, Okinawajima island, C, P. iheyaesilvae sp. nov., holotype, adult male, Iheyajima island, Kurita & Hikida, 2025 |
Abstract
We herein provide a taxonomic revision of the species complex of Plestiodon barbouri (Van Denburgh, 1912) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Molecular and morphological analyses showed that P. barbouri sensu lato comprised at least four distinct lineages, each warranting recognition as a separate species. Thus, we propose a new taxonomic arrangement, where we restrict P. barbouri sensu Van Denburgh to island populations of the Amami Group. In addition, we describe three new species for island populations of the Okinawa Group. The new species are distinguished from each other and all congeners by combining scalation and color patterns.
Keywords: Amami Group, cryptic diversity, geographic variation, Okinawa Group, Plestiodon toyamai sp. nov., Plestiodon iheyaesilvae sp. nov., Plestiodon kumesilvae sp. nov., Ryukyu Archipelago
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| Photographs of Plestiodon barbouri and three allied new species. A, Plestiodon barbouri, topotype, KUZ R70191, Amamioshima island, adult male; B, P. toyamai sp. nov., holotype, KUZ R70182, Okinawajima island, subadult male; C, P. iheyaesilvae sp. nov., holotype, KUZ R70467, Iheyajima island, adult male; D, P. kumesilvae sp. nov., holotype, KUZ R36423, Kumejima island, subadult female. |
Plestiodon barbouri (Van Denburgh, 1912)
Etymology. According to the description of Van Denburgh (1912), this species was named in honor of the American herpetologist Dr. Thomas Barbour (1884–1946), working as an Associate Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians, Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard), at the time of description (Adler 2014).
Suggested common names: Amami-BāBā-Tokage (Japanese) and Amami Barbour’s blue-tailed skink (English).
Plestiodon toyamai sp. nov.
Etymology. The species is named in honor of Mr. Masanao Toyama, for his outstanding contributions to the herpetology of the Ryukyu Archipelago, which is of great interest to the taxonomy of Plestiodon in the Ryukyu Archipelago.
Suggested common names: Okinawa-BāBā-Tokage (Japanese) and Okinawa Barbour’s blue-tailed skink (English).
Plestiodon iheyaesilvae sp. nov.
Etymology. The species name is a compound noun in the genitive case derived from the type locality (Iheyajima island) and the Latin noun silva (=forest), referring to the occurrence of this species in the forests of the island.
Suggested common names: Iheya-BāBā-Tokage (Japanese) and Iheya Barbour’s blue-tailed skink (English).
Plestiodon kumesilvae sp. nov.
Etymology. The species name is a compound noun in the genitive case derived from the type locality (Kumejima island) and the Latin noun silva (=forest), referring to the occurrence of this species in forest area of the island.
Suggested common names: Kume-BāBā-Tokage (Japanese); Kume Barbour’s bule-tailed skink (English).
Kazuki Kurita and Tsutomu Hikida. 2025. A Taxonomic Revision of the Barbour’s Blue-tailed Skink Plestiodon barbouri (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae), With Descriptions of Three New Species. Species Diversity. 30(2); 259-287. DOI doi.org/10.12782/specdiv.30.259
