Otosaurus Gray, 1845

Linkem, Charles W., Diesmos, Arvin C. & Brown, Rafe M., 2011, Molecular systematics of the Philippine forest skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Sphenomorphus): testing morphological hypotheses of interspecific relationships, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163 (4), pp. 1217-1243 : 1236

Otosaurus Gray, 1845

Type species: Otosaurus cumingi Gray, 1845 .

Definition: The clade comprising Otosaurus cumingi ( Gray, 1845) and all species that share a more recent common ancestor with Otosaurus cumingi than with Anomalopus verreauxii , Calyptotis scutirostrum , Coeranoscincus frontalis , Coggeria naufragus , Ctenotus taeniolatus , Eremiascincus richardsonii , Eulamprus quoyii , Glaphyromorphus isolepis , Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae , Hemiergis decresiencsis , Insulasaurus wrighti , Lerista lineata , Lipinia pulchella , Lobulia elegans , Nangura spinosa , Notoscincus ornatus , Ophioscincus australis , Papuascincus stanleyanus , Parvoscincus sisoni , Pinoyscincus jagori , Prasinohaema flavipes , Saiphos equalis , Scincella lateralis , Sphenomorphus melanopogon , and Tytthoscincus hallieri .

Description: Otosaurus is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: (1) body large and robust, with adults being longer than 115 mm SVL; (2) large supranasal scales in contact medially, occluding frontonasal contact with the rostral; and (3) supraoculars seven or eight.

Included species: Otosaurus cumingi Gray, 1845 .

Comments: The species Otosaurus cumingi Gray, 1845 has always been a morphological outlier to the other Philippine skinks. Being the only Sphenomorphus group skink in the region to have large supranasal scales and having an average body size double that of other species ( Gray, 1845; Taylor, 1922a, Brown & Alcala, 1980), it has been recognized as phenotypically distinct and unique amongst Philippine skinks. Our genetic and morphological results confirm its uniqueness amongst other lineages. Historically, this species was placed in the genus Otosaurus Gray, 1845 because of its distinctive morphology. As Otosaurus cumingi is the type species for the genus Otosaurus and is found to be both morphologically and genetically distinct, and our phylogenetic analyses place it in a polytomy with the Australian genera of the Sphenomorphus group and with the clade of Parvoscincus and Pinoyscincus , we re-establish Otosaurus as a monotypic genus, moving cumingi from Sphenomorphus to Otosaurus .