Lamprolepis smaragdina ( Lesson, 1826 )

Karin, Benjamin R., Stubbs, Alexander L., Arifin, Umilaela, Bloch, Luke M., Ramadhan, G., Iskandar, Djoko T., Arida, Evy, Reilly, Sean B., Kusnadi, Agus & Mcguire, Jimmy A., 2018, The herpetofauna of the Kei Islands (Maluku, Indonesia): Comprehensive report on new and historical collections, biogeographic patterns, conservation concerns, and an annotated checklist of species from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, Tam, and Kur, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66, pp. 704-738 : 724

Lamprolepis smaragdina ( Lesson, 1826)

(Fig. 22)

Type locality. Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands .

Distribution in the Kei Islands. Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, Tam, and Kur. We collected this species on all islands we surveyed, except Kei Besar, though the AM and WAM expeditions collected several specimens there.

Natural history. This arboreal species was very common and encountered on exposed trees bathed in sunlight in disturbed and plantation forest. This species is also abundant in local coconut plantations.

Field identification. Medium-large robust arboreal skink; anterior half of body emerald green; posterior half brown; snout long and pointed; body and limbs strong; digits slender; 20–26 mid-body scale rows; 28–35 smooth fourth toe subdigitial lamellae; SVL to 103 mm; tail to 156 mm ( de Rooij, 1915, p. 199–200).

Remarks. Lamprolepis smaragdina has colonised most of Wallacea without anthropogenic assistance ( Linkem et al., 2013). It shows deep mitochondrial genetic differentiation across regions of Wallacea, with the Kei Islands population part of a larger Maluku clade ( Linkem et al., 2013) that can be attributed to the subspecies L. s. moluccarum ( Barbour, 1911).

Fig. 22. Photo in life of Lamprolepis smaragdina from Kei Kecil.