Saproscincus oriarus, a new scincid lizard (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from the north coast of New South Wales

5 Pages·1998·1.6 MB·English

by  Ross A Sadlier

SAPROSCINCUSORIARUS, A NEW SCINCID LIZARD (LACERTILIA: SCINCIDAE)
FROM THENORTH COAST OFNEW SOUTH WALES
ROSSA. SADLIER
Sadlier, R.A. 19980629: Saproscincusoriarus.^nty^^scincidlizard(Lacertilia: Scincidae)
from the north coast ofNew South Wales, Australia. Memoirs ofthe QueenslandMuseum
42(2); 579-583. Brisbane. ISSN0079-8835.
Saproscincus oriarus is described from 10 specimens from 5 scattered areas on the north
coastofNewSouthWales.ThespeciesissmallandmostsimilartoSaproscincusmustelinus.
It ischaracterised by afine whitemidlateral stripe in bothsexes;thischaracterisotherwise
present within Saproscincus in low frequencies only in females of5, challengeri, S. rosei
andS. spectabilis. Scincidae, Saproscincus, NewSouth Wales, coastal.
RossA. Sadlier, Australian Museum, 6 College Street. Sydney 2000, Australia; 17April
Over the past decade, specimens of a small as percentages ofsnout to vent length (SVL) in
undescribedspeciesofskinkhavebeendeposited thetaxon account.
in the Herpetology collection ofthe Australian SCALATION. Head scalation generally follows
Museum. Thesehavecomefrom varioussources, Taylor (1935), except for the shields bordering
the majority being collected as voucher speci- the anterior and lower edge of the eye which
mens during the course offauna survey work on followSadlier(1986: Fig.2);midbodyscalerows
thefarnorth coastofNSW. Thespecieshas been (MBR) = number of longitudinal scale rows
collected from the Myall Lakes area in the south aroundbodycountedmidwaybetweenaxillaand
to Byron Bay in the north, in coastal or near groin; paravertebral scales (DSR) = number of
coastal habitats, includingboth artificial anddis- scales in a paravertebral row from first scale
turbed environments. posteriorto parietal scale to last scale anteriorto
Theconservationstatusof5. oriarusisunclear. levelofventopening; fourth finger(4FS)andtoe
It has an apparently broad distribution but is scales (4TS)=numberofdorsal scales on fourth
known from relatively few individuals at any digit ofhand and foot, distal scale contains claw,
location. Itsoccurrenceinareasalteredbyhuman basal scale offourth finger and toe lies adjacent
activity indicates that it can persist in disturbed to basal scaleofthird fingerandtoerespectively;
habitat. However, the scarcity ofrecords in one fourth finger (4FL) and toe lamellae (4TL) -
ofthe most developed regions ofAustralia also number ofventral scales on fourth digit ofhand
indicates that it may be limited in distribution at andfoot,distalscalecontainsclawandbasalscale
a local scaleby factors otherthan habitattype. islastlargelyundividedscaleatapointlevelwith
intersection ofthirdand fourth digits. Bilaterally
Specimens are lodged in the Australian Mu- scoreable scalation characters were scored on
seum, Sydney (AMS).
bothsidesandthemeanvalueused in calculating
MATERIALS AND METHODS statistics.
MEASUREMENTS. The following characters OSTEOLOGY. Specimens were X-rayed to as-
were scored for each specimen where possible: sessphalangealformula,andnumberofpresacral
and postsacral vertebrae.
snouttoventlength(SVL)-measuredfromtipof
snouttocaudaledgeofanalscales;axillatogroin Saproscincus oriarus sp.nov.
distance - measured from middle ofbase offore
ETYMOLOGY.
limb to middle ofbase ofhindlimb; forelimb to Latin oriarus, ofthecoast.
snout length - measured from tip of snout to MATERIAL. HOLOTYPE: AMSR146851 Byron
middle of base of forelimb; hindlimb length - Bay, 3.5km N town centre (Byron Bay Holiday vil-
measured from middle ofbase ofhindlimb totip lages),NSW28°37’S 153‘^35TcollectedR.Sadlier&
mofeafsouurrethdftroeomipnocsltuedriinogrenadigle; otfaialnallensgctahles(TtLo)tip- cP1.o4l6Rl8eo2cwt7loaransndda1s11/4h26o/71l49o79l,5y.paePllA(Rs1Aa4mT6eY7P2gE2eSne:sriatAleMl5SoRc31a/t42i6o/n1792a92n5,d;
oftail, on complete original tails only as deter- 146827, site 11 8/2/1995; 146747 site 3 6/2/1995);
minedbyx-rays. Bodymeasurementsareexpressed AMSR146634 YuraygirNP, Blue Lake S Station Ck
580 MEMOIRS OFTHE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
FIG. 1. Saproscinciis oriarusfrom Byron Bay.
NSW
(area 89) 29°57'S I53°14’E, 20/10/1994; included in the description ofscalation or meas-
NACoMSfSWfRsI24H94°a45r9b9^o2SuYrIu.5r3aB°y1og6ui’rlEN.tPw,2o1No/5dW/1oS9ot9l4i;N(SANMWRSARC31058°0015C76G’5)S ularteimoenndtess,crainpdtiAoMnSdRuie4to66po3o4ripsruesseerdvaotniloyn)i.n sca-
153°07’E, 25/1 1/I996; AMSR15094I Sawtell, Baly- Measurements. (Adults only) Maximum SVL
don NSW 30°2I’S 153°04’E collected 4/4/1997; 43mm; distance from axillato groin 53.7-57.9%
R132477LimeburnersCreekNatureReserve, BigHill SVL(mean=55.6%,n=7);distancefromforelimb
rAeMstS/Rca1mp4i6n9g9a9rMeyaNaNlSSlWW3Lla°k1es6’aSr1ea5.2°S5mi8t’hEs,L23a/k4e/1F9i8e9l;d thoinsdnloiumtb38le.n4g-t4h13.45.%2-S3V9L.0(%mSeaVnL=(m4e0a.0n%=,3n6=.97%),;
Station (vicinity) 32°23'S 152°29’E. n =6);tail approximately 1.5 x longerthan body.
DIAGNOSIS. The species described here is
Scalation. Frontonasal broader than long; pre-
placed in the genus Saproscincus as defined by
frontalsmoderatelyseparated; frontal longerthan
Greer (1989) in having six upper labials and a
wide, contacting first and second of four su-
white spotto the posteriorbase ofthethigh.
praoculars; frontoparietals distinct; interparietal
Saproscincus oriarus is distinguished from the distinct, parietal eye spot present; parietals con-
other members of the genus by the following tact behind interparietal, each bordered by a
combination ofcharacters: adult size moderately nuchalscaleanduppersecondarytemporal scale;
small 34-43mm; premaxillaryteeth 1 1; post-sacra! primarytemporalsingle;uppersecondarytempo-
vertebrae 54; nuchal scales meet behind inter- ral single, overlaps lower secondary temporal;
parietal; supraciliaries usually 6; scales on topof lowersecondarytemporal single; tertiary tempo-
fourthfinger9-11; lamellaebeneath fourthfinger ral single: postlabialstwo.
13-16; scales on topoffourthtoe 1 1-13; lamellae Nasals moderately large, widely separated;
beneath fourth toe 18-22; lateral surface ofhead loreals two; upper and lower preocular present;
andbody with a finewhitemidlateralstripe; dark anteriorsubocularsone;supraciliariesusuallysix
markings on the ventral surface (when present) (75%), occasionally seven; upper labials six,
arranged in regularlongitudinal rows. fourth contacting the lower eyelid; lower labials
DESCRIPTION. Based on 9 adults 34-43mm six; postmental contactingfirstand second lower
SVL (the single juvenile AMSR146722 is not labial; chinshields three, first pair in broad con-
ANEW SPECIES OFSAPROSCINCUS 581
TABLE 1. ComparativetableofmeasurementsandmeristicsforS. oriarus,S. challengeri, S, rosei,S. spectabilis
andS. mustelinus. DataforS. challengeri, S. roseU S. spectabilisfrom Sadlieret. ah, 1993.
S. oriarus S. challengeri S. rosei S. spectabilis Ss.oumtuhsetrenlinus Sn.ormtuhsetrenlinus
MaximumSVL 43 57 64 59 53 55
TL(%SVL)
137-168 137-192 139-192 175-202 152-191
range
mean ca. 150 155.8 168.1 165.0 184.5 172.6
n 1 27 31 28 3 4
Sup.range 6-7 6-7 5-8 6-8 6-7 6-7
mode 6 6 7 7 6 6
MBRrange 22-24 23-26 22-26 22-24 22-24 22-24
mean±sd 22.7±1.00 24.6a:1.0 24.1+0.9 22.7+0.9 22.8+0.98 22.7+0.9
n 9 63 101 58 19 44
DSRrange 59-63 54-63 55-67 54-61 56-62 58-65
mean±sd 61.0+1.32 57.6ael.6 58.8+2.2 57.9+1.7 59.8+1.45 61.0+1.67
n 9 101 58 19 44
4FSrange 9-11 9-11 8-11 9-11 8-10 7-10
mean±sd 9.9+0.82 lO.OaeO.3 9.7+0.8 10.2+0.4 8.7+0.53 8.1+0.40
n 8 63 100 57 19 44
4FLrange 13-16 15-19 14-18 16-21 10-14 9-12
meanlsd 14.2+0.80 17.3^0.9 15.3+0.9 17.9+1.0 12.7+0.73 10.9+0.68
n 8 63 100 57 19 44
4TSrange 11-13 11-13 10-14 11-14 11-12 9-12
mean±sd 12.0+0.65 11.2as0.4 11.2+0.6 12.3x0.9 11.2+0.34 10.7+0.52
n 8 63 100 58 19 44
4TLrange 18-22 22-27 17-24 22-28 18-22 14-19
mean±sd 19.9+1.1 24.3asl.O 21.0+1.2 24.8+1.4 19.8+0.62 16.8+1.14
n 8 63 100 58 19 44
Presacralrange 28-29 27-28 27-29 26-28 28-30 29-30
meanlsd 28.3+0.52 27.1ae0.3 27.7+0.7 27.0+0.3 29.1+0.43 29.3+0.48
n 6 16 31 41 17 42
Postsacralrange 54 45-48 46-53 48-53 50-52 45-51
mearttsd 46.8+1,1 49.6x2.3 50.3+1.2 51.0+1.0 48.0+2.58
n 1 12 20 31 3 4
tact; lower eyelid with an obvious, centrally lo- formulaformanusandpes2.3.4.5.3 and2.3.4.5.4
cated semi-transparent disc; ear opening moder- respectively.
ately large, with small acute lobules anteriorly Colour and Pattern. Holotype and three pa-
and anumberofsmall rounded lobules on poste- ratypes from Byron Bay with mid brown dorsal
riorand loweredges. surface, unmarked except for dark longitudinal
Midbody scale rows 22-24 (mean = 22.7, sd = streaks on scale row three (dorsolateral margin)
1.00, n = 9); paravertebral scales 59-63 (mean = before and after the fore- and hindlimbs. Laterm
61.0, sd = 1.32, n = 9); scales on top of fourth surfacewith apale,dark-edged,mid lateralstrWi^
flaiengbeern9e-a1th1 (fmoueratnh=fm9g.9e,rs1d3=-106.8(2m,enan==8);14l.a2m,els-d t(hberohkienndploismtbe,rirournlnyi)nfgruonmdebrehtihnedeynea,rethtroobd£^^oelK^
= 0.80, n = 8); scales on top offourth toe 11-13 earopening,andabovetheforelimb;u^b&'Meral
(mean= 12.0, sd=0.65,n= 8); lamellae beneath surfaceofbodymid-brown, similartp:a&i^
fourth toe 18-22 (mean = 19.9, sd= 1.10, n= 8). our; lower lateral surfacemid to
Osteology^ Presacral vertebrae 28 (n = 4) - 29 (n preaching the venter. Fore- and nihOTmDs^w|m
= 2); postsacral vertebrae 54 (n = 1); phalangeal dark median streaks to each scale gwing tne^ap-
582 MEMOIRS OFTHE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
narrow, black, dorsolateral stripe on scale row 3,
and the ventral surface nearly devoid of dark
AMSR
markings. 144592isdarkbrownonthedor-
sal surface and nearly black on the upper lateral
surfaceofthebody,andventralscalesofthebody
allhaveadarkmedianstreaktogivingtheappear-
ance ofseveral parallel rows ofdark stripes.
Two specimens from CofTs Harbour (AMSR-
&
150565 150941), and one from Smiths Lake
(146999), have well defined dark lateral and
lighterdorsalsurfaces, andmoderatetoextensive
dark markings to the ventral surface (similar to
144592). The specimen from Crescent Head is
similar in pattern but overall lighter in tone, and
has less extensive dark markings on the ventral
surface (similarto the Byron Bay specimens).
HABITATANDDISTRIBUTION. Knownfrom
Byron Bay in the far NE ofNSW to the Smiths
Lakes area approximately 420km south. Habitat
notes indicate the species prefers well vegetated
areasalongthecentral andnortherncoastalplain.
Theseriesoffourspecimenspitfalltrappedonthe
coastal plain just N of Byron Bay represent 3
different habitat types; swamp sclerophyll forest
dominated by broad-leaved paperbark, shrubs
and ferns; swamp sclerophyll wood-
land/shrubland; and grassland that replaced na-
tivevegetation followingclearing. Thespecimen
from Limebumers Ck Nature Reserve was col-
lected in an areathatwas, andisnow adjacentto,
FIsGq.uar2e.) iRneNcoSrWd.s of Saproscincus oriarus (closed littoral rainforest and Melaleuca swamp and the
specimen from Smiths Lake field station was
pearanceofalternatelightanddarkbrownstripes; from coastal forest.
anteriormost pale stripe ofthe hindlimb more or Data associated with several specimens indi-
less continuous with pale mid lateral stripe. Tail catethespecies occurs indisturbedhabitats. One
markedlytwo-toned,dorsalsurfacelighterincol- specimen from Byron Bay was collected in an
ourthan adjoiningdorsal surface ofbody, lateral extensiveareaofmowngrass, thespecimen from
surfaceoftailsameasbodybutwithaprominent, CoffsHarbourfromasuburbanallotment,andthe
pale, dark-edged stripe bordering the margin of specimen from Limebumers Ck Nature Reserve
the lateral and ventral surfaces. Ventral surface ‘in a pair of female underpants in tent habitat’
pale; scales of ventrolateral edge with a brown located on grassland that was formerly littoral
median streak forming a near continuous stripe rainforest and Melaleuca swamp (H. Hines field
down the body between the fore- and hindlimbs;
notes).
underside of hindlimbs and enlarged median
scales oftailwith similardark streaks. Saproscincus oriarus appears to be a secretive
species. Allspecimenscollected from Byron Bay
The remaining specimens from further S show
weretaken from pit-fall traps between late after-
somevariationwithregardto intensityofcolour,
noon and early morning.
definition ofthedorsal and lateral surfaces ofthe
body, and degree ofdark marking on the ventral One specimen collected in Oct. 1994 has 3
surface ofthebody. shelledeggs.
Twospecimens(AMSR146634& 144592)from COMPARISONWITHOTHERSPECIES.Within
two different locations atYuragirNP exhibitthe Saproscincus Greer (1989) defined a lineage of
extremes of variation in intensity ofcoloration. three species S. basiliscus, S. czechurae and S.
AMSR146634 is pale brown on the dorsal and tetradactyla, all ofwhich occur in closed forest
lateral surfaces of the body but has a distinct habitat ofmideast and NE QLD. This group of
ANEW SPECIES OFSAPROSCINCUS 583
speciessharethederivedcharacterstatesofsmall Some female S. challengeri(Sadlier, 1993), S.
size,elevatednumberofpremaxillaryteeth(13 or rosei (Sadlier, 1993: figs 16, 18 & 19), and S.
more vs II), and a unique arrangement of the spectabilis (Sadlier, 1993: fig. 1 1) have a white
nuchal scales. The second and third characters midlateral stripe and two-toned body colour. Ju-
will readilydistinguishthesespeciesfromS. ori- venileand subadultfemales ofthesespecieswith
arus.Afurthertwospeciessimilarto5. basiliscus a white midlateral stripe could be confused with
have been decribed (Couper & Keim, 1998 [this similarsizedS. oriarus.S. oriarusandS. roseiare
volume]). Both are members ofthis lineage. regionallysympatricintheCoffsHarbourareaon
The remaining species S. challengeri, S. rosei, the mid north coast.
S. spectabilis^ S. mustelinus and S. oriarus form ADDITIONAL MATERIAL. S. mustelinus southern
a primitive assemblage within Saproscincus. S. group: AMSR148294-299 Mt Wilson area. Waterfall
challengeri, S. rosei and S. spectabilis are all Rd., 33°29’S 150^25’ENSW; AMSRI48300MtWil-
moderately large diurnal species occurring in son, Waterfall Ck area, 33°30’S 150°23’E NSW;
closed forest habitat ofthe coast and ranges of AMSRl35309-310, 138135-146 Charlestown, New-
mcuensttreallinuasndisanocrrtephuesrcnulNarSsWpeciaensdthSatEgeQnledr.allS,y cnaosrttlheersnubugrrobu3p:2°5A8M’SSRI514r740r88E-9N1SWS.teSw.armfussteBlrionouks
toact.cuIrtsiisnwwiodoedllyanddisrtartihbeurttedhainnclnoesaerdcfooarsetsatlhaabnid- tASrFMa,SckRG1tool4o8Ggr2lu2ine7d-yp2i3cFni0irecRTiaoarwmeaeurk3k31a®]5°S52F’0,S'SHe1l15l511H°o°2l03e’9E’rdEN.NSnSWeWa;;r
highland areas ofSE Australia but is only found R148231-257 Riamukka SF, nr Grundy Fire Tower
inthe highlands N ofthe Hunter R. in NSW. It is 31°20’S I51°39’E NSW; AMSR138212-215,
suggestedthesenorthernS. mustelinusaredistinct 138232-242 Beech Lookout, Styx R. SF 30°3rs
from allopatric populations to the south (Wells & 152°2rENSW.
Wellington, 1985). S. oriarus also appears to be
crepuscularinhabits, butoccurs incoastalornear ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
N
coastal habitats of the Hunter Valley and as
such, is allopatric in distributionto both northern Glenn Shea, Allen Greer, Sarah Smith and
and southern populations ofS. mustelinus. Gavin Ayre helped to collect specimens. Allen
Greer and Glenn Sheareviewedthemanuscript.
In morphologyS. oriarus can be distinguished
from these remaining members ofthe genus as
LITERATURE CITED
follows:
1)fromS. challengeriin havingfewerlamellae GREER,A.E.&KLUGE,A.G. 1980.Anewspeciesof
beneath the fourth finger (13-16 vs 15-19) and Lampropholis (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from the
mfoaurrktihntgoseo(n18t-h2e2vvenst2r2a-l2s7u)rfaancdei(nwhhaevninpgretsheentd)arikn rsaiionnfaolrPeastpserosfofntohrethMeuassteerunmQoufeZeonoslloagndy.UnOicvcear--
regular longitudinal rows vs scattered; sityofMichigan 691:1-12.
2) from S. spectabilis by having fewer super- GREEtRr,aliAa.nE.liz1a9r8d9s..T(ShuerrbeiyolBoegaytatnyd&evSoolnust:ioCnhoifpApuisn-g
ciliaries(usually6vs usually7),andfewerlamel- Norton).
laebeneaththefourthfinger(13-16vs 16-21)and SADLIER, R.A. 1986. A reviewofthe scincid lizards
fourth toe (18-22 vs 22-28); ofNewCaledonia.RecordsoftheAustralianMu-
3) from S. rosei in having fewer supraciliaries seum39(1): 1-66.
(usually6 vsusually 7), and from southernpopu- SADLIER,R.A.,COLGAN,D.J.&SHEA,G.M. 1993.
lations ofS. rosei in also having the dark mark- TaxonomyanddistributionoftheAustralianscin-
ings on the ventral surface (where present) cid lizard Saproscincus challengeri and related
arrangedinregularlongitudinalrowsvsscattered. speciesinsoutheasternAustralia. Memoirsofthe
4) from the southern populations of S. QueenslandMuseum 34(1):139-158.
mustelinus in having more finger scales (9-11 vs TAYLOR,E.H. 1935.Ataxonomicstudyofthecosmo-
p8-re1s0)e,ncmeoroefafifnigneermliadmlealtleareal(1s3t-ri1p6e;vs 10-14),and paonlaictacnosucnitnocfoitdhe1idziasrtdrsiobufttihoengaenndusreEluatmieocnsehsipwsitohf
its species. Bulletin ofthe University ofKansas
5) from northern populations ofS. mustelinus 36(14): 1-642.
in having more finger scales (9-1 1 vs 7-9), more WELLS,R.W.&WELLINGTON,C. 1985.Aclassifi-
finger lamellae (13-16 vs 9-13), more toe scales cationoftheAmphibiaand ReptiliaofAustralia.
(11-13 vs 9-12), more toe lamellae (18-22 vs Australian Journal Herpetology. Supplementary
14-20); and presence ofa fine midlateral stripe. Series 1: 1-61.