Oligosoma lineoocellatum ( Duméril & Duméril 1851 )

Melzer, Sabine, Bell, Trent & Patterson, Geoff B., 2017, Hidden conservation vulnerability within a cryptic species complex: taxonomic revision of the spotted skink (Oligosoma lineoocellatum; Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Zealand, Zootaxa 4300 (3), pp. 355-379 : 357-361

Oligosoma lineoocellatum ( Duméril & Duméril 1851)

Figure 2a , b

Synonyms

Lygosoma lineo-ocellatum

DUMÉRIL & DUMÉRIL 1851; BOULENGER 1887; ( Liolepisma: Duméril & Duméril ): WERNER 1895, 1901; HUTTON & DRUMMOND 1904; HUTTON 1904; LYDEKKER 1911; MARTIN 1929; ( Leiolopisma: Duméril & Duméril ): SMITH 1937; McCANN 1955

Lygosoma lineoocellatum

( Mocoa: Duméril & Duméril ): PETERS 1873; (Duméril & Duméril): WERNER 1901 Mocoa zealandica

(Gray): GUNTHER 1875

Liolepisma lineo-ocellatum

(Duméril & Duméril): LUCAS & FROST 1897

Leiolopisma lineo-ocellata

(Duméril & Duméril): MITTLEMAN 1952

Leiolopisma lineo-ocellatum

(Duméril & Duméril): McCANN 1955 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): McCANN 1956 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): WHITAKER 1967; (Duméril & Duméril): FORSTER & FORSTER 1970 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): WHITAKER 1970 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): FORSTER & FORSTER 1971 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): TOWNS 1971a (part); (Duméril & Duméril): TOWNS 1971b (part); (Duméril & Duméril): SCHIPPER 1972; (Duméril & Duméril): ROBB 1974 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): BULL & WHITAKER 1975; (Duméril & Duméril): THOMAS 1976 Leiolopisma grande grande

(Gray): McCANN 1955; (Gray): McCANN 1956; (Gray): ROBB 1974 Leiolopisma festivum

McCANN 1955; McCANN 1956; SCHIPPER 1972; GREER 1974; ROBB 1974 Leiolopisma lineo-occelatum

(Duméril & Duméril): COX et al. 1967

Leiolopisma lineoocellatum

(Duméril & Duméril): GREER 1970 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): SCHIPPER 1972; (Duméril & Duméril): GREER 1974; (Duméril & Duméril): BULL & WHITAKER 1975; (Duméril & Duméril): GILL 1976 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): O'CONNOR 1976; (Duméril & Duméril): WHITAKER 1976; (Duméril & Duméril): HARDY 1977

Leiolopisma infrapunctatum

(Boulenger): ROBB 1974

Oligosoma lineoocellatum

GREAVES et al. 2007; CHAPPLE et al. 2009

Oligosoma aff. lineoocellatum “central Canterbury”

HITCHMOUGH, R., BULL, L. & CROMARTY, P. 2007; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2010; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2013; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2016 b

Comments. Hardy (1977) listed four specimens as syntypes, rather than nominating a holotype of O. lineoocellatum . When a species is described based on a name-bearing type consisting of multiple specimens, one of those may be designated as the lectotype. A lectotype is the single specimen selected from among the syntypes to serve as the only name-bearing type specimen, and is formally designated as such. We have followed this practice in our paper.

Lectotype. NZ (locality unknown), MNHN 1991 :2731 [5053A], unknown, (coll. M. Arnoux & M. Belligny, date unknown).

Paralectotypes. NZ (locality unknown), 3 specimens ( MNHN 5475 , unknown; MNHN 2007.2418 [5475A], unknown; MNHN 5053 , unknown) (coll. M. Arnoux & M. Belligny, date unknown).

Specimens were loaned to Te Papa, National Museum of New Zealand ( NMNZ; Wellington) by the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle ( MNHN; Paris) for examination.

Paratypes (8 specimens). Birdlings Flat (43° 50’S, 172° 42’E), 2 specimens ( NMNZ RE001740 (2/2/8.2), male ; NMNZ RE001740 (2/2/8.3), immature) (coll. G. Hardy, unknown date); Lake Ellesmere area (43° 32’S, 172° 32’E), NMNZ RE002035, male (coll. D. Newman, unknown date); Birdlings Flat (43° 50’S, 172° 42’E), 4 specimens ( NMNZ RE003712 (S67), unknown ; NMNZ RE003713 (S68), female; NMNZ RE003714 (S69), female; NMNZ RE003715 (S70), female (coll. A. Whitaker, 1960); Mt Somers (43° 45’S, 171° 18’E), NMNZ RE005456, female (coll. C. Daugherty, 11 Jan 1985).

Diagnosis. In general, members of the O. lineoocellatum species complex can be distinguished from other similar sympatric species by colour pattern and scale counts. The dorsal green or brown ground colour speckled with black and white ocelli resembles only O. chloronoton . However, all O. lineoocellatum complex species have either two anterior subocular scales, or three where the third is much reduced in size compared with the first two. All O. chloronoton complex species in contrast have three similarly sized anterior suboculars. The subdigital lamellae count in O. chloronoton is usually less than 22, whereas in O. lineoocellatum it is usually greater than 22.

Oligosoma lineoocellatum can be distinguished from other species in the O. lineoocellatum species complex by a combination of characters. The adpressed limbs often do not meet (7 out of 12 specimens), whereas they usually meet in O. prasinum sp. nov., and always meet in O. elium sp. nov. The subdigital lamellae count is usually below 24, compared with O. prasinum and O. elium where it is usually above 24. Dorsal ocelli continue down the tail unlike in many specimens of O. prasinum and O. elium . Pale dorsolateral stripes are usually much more pronounced than in O. prasinum . The ear width in O. lineoocellatum relative to SVL is approximately 50% greater than in O. prasinum . O. lineoocellatum will occasionally have three anterior suboculars, where the other species will always have two. There are significant differences in SVL/HW between O. lineoocellatum and O. kokowai sp. nov., as well as O. lineoocellatum and O. prasinum ( Figure 6a ).

Description of Lectotype. Habit lacertiform, body elongate, oval in cross-section; limbs well developed, pentadactyl. Lower eyelid with a transparent palpebral disc, bordered on sides and below by small, oblong granules. Snout moderately blunt. Nostril centred in lower middle of nasal, not touching bottom edge of nasal, pointing up and back. Supranasals absent. Rostral narrower than deep. Frontonasal broader than long, not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Frontal longer than broad, shorter than frontoparietal and interparietal together, in contact with 2 anteriormost supraoculars. Supraoculars 4, 2nd largest. Preoculars, 2, upper one the larger. Frontoparietals distinct, larger than the interparietal. A pair of parietals meeting behind interparietal and bordered posteriorly by a pair of nuchals and temporals, also in contact with interparietal, frontoparietal, 4th supraocular, and 2 postoculars. Loreals 2, anterior one the larger; anterior loreal in contact with 1st and 2nd supralabial, posterior loreal, prefrontal, frontonasal, and nasal; posterior loreal in contact with 2nd and 3rd supralabial, 1st subocular, upper and lower preocular, prefrontal, and anterior loreal. Supralabials 7, 6th largest.

Infralabials 6, several equally largest. Fifth supralabial below centre of the eye. Temporals: 1 primary; 2 secondary. Ear opening round, moderately large, with several small projecting granules on anterior margin. Suboculars 7, 3rd and 4th separated by 5th supralabial. Mental broader but shallower than rostral. Postmental larger than mental. Chinshields 3 pairs. Dorsal scales similar in size to ventral scales, weakly striate. Ventral scales and subdigital lamellae smooth. Adpressed limbs not meeting. Digits moderately long, subcylindrical. Third front digit similar in length to 4th.

Measurements (in mm; Lectotype with the variation shown in the specimens examined in parentheses). SVL 63.9 (mean 78.3, range 52.2–107.3), HL 10.0 (mean 12.3, range 9.0–15.3), HW 6.4 (mean 7.1, range 5.0–8.7), AG 32.5 (mean 41.4, range 25.7–58.4), SF 25.3 (mean 29.7, range 19.5–37.1), S-Ear 11.8 (mean 14.7, range 9.9– 18.7), EF 13.4 (mean 16.0, range 10.3–20.0), HLL 21.5 (mean 24.7, range 16.6–32.3).

Variation (lectotype with the variation shown in the paratypes / paralectotypes in parentheses). Upper ciliaries 7 (mean 6, range 5–8); lower ciliaries 9 (mean 9, range 7–10); nuchals 3 pairs (mean 3 pairs, range 2–4 pairs); midbody scale rows 34 (mean 32, range 31–34); ventral scale rows 90 (mean 88, range 76–102); subdigital lamellae 23 (mean 23, range 21–25); supraciliaries 5 (mean 5, range 5–5); suboculars 6 (mean 5, range 5–6). Frontonasal not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Anterior loreal always in contact with first and second supralabial, posterior loreal always in contact with second and third supralabial. Supralabials 7, the sixth or seventh the largest. Infralabials 6 (usual), or 7. Projecting scales usually present in ear opening. Maximum SVL 107.3 mm. Only 4 of the specimens examined had an intact tail, tail length of intact specimens ranging between 72–120.5 mm. Mean TL/SVL = 1.17. Ratios for morphological measurements (± SD): AG/SF 1.38 ± 0.11; S-Ear/EF 0.92 ± 0.05; HL/HW 1.74 ± 0.09 (N=12).

Colouration. This is quite variable among specimens, but the most common colouration is as follows: Middorsal stripe lacking. Dorsal surface olive green, usually with light and dark flecking (ocelli), 5–6 scale rows wide, bordered by pale dorsolateral stripe 2 half-scale rows wide extending from above eyes to base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This pale stripe bordered below by a brown lateral stripe four or more scale rows wide, notched on upper and lower edges, running from in front of eye towards tip of tail. This brown band is heavily flecked with white and bordered below by another pale band that breaks up into irregular cream and dark brown mottling. Ventral region often suffused with pink or orange, except on the throat which is pale with dark speckling. Soles of feet grey/cream. Outer surface of forelimbs speckled with light and dark, sometimes orange and green. Ocelli extend along dorsal surface of tail almost to tip. They do not appear to be sexually dichromatic. Juvenile colouration similar to adult.

[colour from photos]

Etymology. The specific latin name refers to the rows of eye-like spots (ocelli) on the dorsal surface. The accepted vernacular name is ‘ Canterbury spotted skink’ ( Bell 2014).

Figures

FIGURE 2. a) O. lineoocellatum holotype (photo: Te Papa). b) Live specimen of O. lineoocellatum, Mt Cavendish, Port Hills, Christchurch (photo: Marieke Lettink).

FIGURE 6. a – e. Notched boxplots comparing the morphological characteristics of the species in the Oligosoma lineoocellatum species group (O. elium, O. kokowai, O. lineoocellatum, O. prasinum). a) snout-vent length (SVL) / head width (HW), b) midbody scales, c) lower ciliaries, d) axilla-groin (AG) / snout-forelimb (SF), e) upper ciliaries. If there is no overlap between two medians, then the medians are significantly different at a 95 % confidence interval.