Sunday, October 28, 2012

[Herpetology • 2012] Lygosoma veunsaiensis • A new species of the genus Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Scincidae) from northeastern Cambodia, with an updated identification key to the genus Lygosoma in mainland Southeast Asia



Abstract 
We describe a new species of the genus Lygosoma from northeastern Cambodia based on a single voucher specimen collected from Veun Sai Proposed Protected Forest, Veun Sai District, Ratanakiri Province. Lygosoma veunsaiensis sp. nov. is differentiated from all congeners occurring in mainland Southeast Asia by the combination of the following characters: outer ear opening absent; supranasals distinct and separated from each other by frontonasal; supranasals not fused with nasals; midbody scales in 22 rows; fontoparietals paired; five supralabials; a light stripe present on outer edge of the dorsum; and a dark dorsolateral stripe present, from behind the eye to the tail. A key to the Southeast Asian mainland species of Lygoma is provided.

Key words: taxonomy, L. veunsaiensis sp. nov., Veun Sai Proposed Protected Forest, Ratanakiri Province, Indochina



GEISSLER, PETER; TIMO HARTMANN & THY NEANG. 2012. A new species of the genus Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Scincidae) from northeastern Cambodia, with an updated identification key to the genus Lygosoma in mainland Southeast Asia. Zootaxa. 3190: 56–68