Nubeoscincus, Slavenko & Tamar & Tallowin & Kraus & Allison & Carranza & Meiri, 2022

Slavenko, Alex, Tamar, Karin, Tallowin, Oliver J S, Kraus, Fred, Allison, Allen, Carranza, Salvador & Meiri, Shai, 2022, Revision of the montane New Guinean skink genus Lobulia (Squamata: Scincidae), with the description of four new genera and nine new species, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195 (1), pp. 220-278 : 237-238

NUBEOSCINCUS GEN. NOV.

(CLADE III)

( FIG. 5 , SUPPORTING INFORMATION, FIGS S6 , S 8 ; TABLE 1 )

Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n:l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 21B16380-F7EE-48CF-806C-699AAC63F491

Type species: Lobulia glacialis Greer et al., 2005 . Herpetological Monographs 19: 153–179.

Diagnosis: Medium-sized (adult SVL 47.4–64.0 mm) terrestrial skinks with short limbs (forelimbs 28.7– 34.4% of SVL, hindlimbs 34.6–38.6% of SVL); lobules either present or absent from anterior edge of ear opening; two pairs of chin shields in medial contact; two supralabials posterior to subocular supralabial; chin shields separated from infralabials by a row of genials; lower eyelid with window of variable size, opaqueness and scaliness; temporal region fragmented (> 3 scales); nasal scale undivided; frontoparietals unfused; viviparous; litter size up to three.

Nubeoscincus differs from Prasinohaema by lacking green blood serum and tissues ( Greer, 1974), a prehensile tail with a glandular tip and basally expanded subdigital lamellae. It differs from Lobulia and Papuascincus by having the chin shields separated from the infralabials by a row of genials (vs. chin shields abutting infralabials) and by having a fragmented temporal region (vs. the standard three-scale arrangement). It further differs from Papuascincus by having two pairs of chin shields in medial contact (vs. one), unfused (vs. fused) frontoparietals, a viviparous (vs. oviparous) reproductive mode and an undivided (vs. divided) nasal scale.

Etymology: A combinatorial noun derived from the Latin nouns nubes, cloud, and scincus, a type of lizard, in reference to the extremely high elevations at which species in this genus occur.

Species included: Nubeoscincus glacialis ( Greer et al., 2005) comb. nov.; Nubeoscincus stellaris ( Greer et al., 2005) comb. nov.

Distribution: Both species of Nubeoscincus occur at extremely high elevations from the western New Guinea Highlands to the western (Indonesian) parts of the island and are known from extremely limited distributions: N. glacialis near Puncak Jaya in the Sudirman Range, Papua Province ( Indonesia), and N. stellaris from the Star Mountains in West Sepik Province ( Papua New Guinea).

Figures

Figure 5. Representatives of each of the seven revised genera, not to scale: (A) Lobulia huonensis (BPBM 40322); (B) Prasinohaema flavipes (BPBM 40369); (C) Nubeoscincus glacialis (BPBM 14712); (D) Papuascincus lineage VII (BPBM 44749); (E) Palaia pulchra (BPBM 38789); (F) Alpinoscincus alpinus (BPBM 44218); (G) Ornithuroscincus pterophilus (BPBM 45705). Images by Allen Allison.

Figure 6. Pictures in life of (A) Lobulia brongersmai (BPBM 34733); (B) Lobulia elegans (BPBM 18692); (C) Lobulia fortis (paratype; BPBM 41130); (D) Lobulia huonensis (holotype; BPBM 40322); (E) Lobulia lobulus (BPBM 47837); (F) Lobulia marmorata (holotype; BPBM 34150). Images A, B, F by Fred Kraus, images C–E by Allen Allison.

Figure 8. Lobulia lobulus (BPBM 47837) in life, (A) dorsal view and (B) ventral view. Images by Allen Allison.