Larutia kecil, Fukuyama & Hikida & Hossman & Nishikawa, 2019
|
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4661.3.6 |
|
publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:01E86D94-FB08-42C8-AFCF-3F90006F52D3 |
|
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038B87B7-CD7D-FFC3-2BEF-5F04DB4FC246 |
|
treatment provided by |
Plazi |
|
scientific name |
Larutia kecil |
| status |
sp. nov. |
Larutia kecil sp. nov.
Figures 3–6 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6
Holotype. SRC 00624 (formerly, KUHE 60324 View Materials ), an adult male, collected by Ibuki Fukuyama and Kanto Nishikawa, on 30 March 2018 at the west ridge of Gunung Penrissen, Kuching Division, Sarawak (N 1.1167, E 110.2147 ( WGS84 ); 1,000 m asl.), East Malaysia, Borneo. GoogleMaps
Diagnosis. Larutia kecil sp. nov. is a small species ( SVL 84 mm) of Larutia with a relatively long head (HL/ SVL =0.13); body elongate; dorsal scales smooth; limbs poorly developed; lower eyelid bearing large, transparent scales, central scale largest; four supraoculars; frontoparietals paired; prefrontals small, widely separated; supranasals absent; postnasals absent; last supralabial horizontally divided or fused; first chinshields contacting second infralabial and each other medially; second chinshields separated from infralabials by an elongate scale and not in medial contact; 92 paravertebral scale rows; 22 longitudinal scale rows around midbody; caudal and body scales undifferentiated; dorsal head and body unicolor dark brown without yellow or pale bands or spots; rostral, first supralabial, nasal, frontonasal, mental, and first infralabial scales opaque.
Description of holotype. Adult male with enlarged testes (1.9 x 5.3 mm); SVL 84 mm; TaL 95 mm (distal 15 mm regenerated); head small and elongate ( HW /HL=0.6); head scales smooth; rostral wider than long, distinctly visible from above, in broad contact with frontonasal; frontonasal wider than long; prefrontals small, widely separated at midline; frontal elongate, widest anteriorly, in contact with first two supraoculars; four supraoculars; frontoparietals contacting second to fourth supraoculars anteriorly and parietals and interparietal posteriorly; interparietal large, no parietal eye spot; parietals large, in medial contact posterior to interparietal, contacting posterior margin of fourth supraocular anteriorly; enlarged, differentiated nuchals absent; nasals contacting rostral anteriorly, frontonasal dorsally, anterior loreal posteriorly, first supralabial ventrally; nostril in anteroventral portion of nasal scale; supranasals absent; anterior loreal nearly same size as posterior loreal; preocular in contact with posterior loreal and anterior presubocular; two presuboculars in contact with second to fourth supralabials; five supraciliaries; six supralabials; first supralabial largest; last supralabial horizontally divided on left side, but fused on right side; two postoculars; two pretemporals; one primary temporal; two secondary temporals; mental wider than long; single large, rectangular postmental contacting first and second infralabials on left side and first infralabial on right side; two enlarged pairs of chinshields following postmental, anterior pair contacting medially, posterior pair separated posteriorly by one gular scale; anterior chinshields contacting infralabials, posterior chinshield separated from infralabials by an elongated scale; five infralabials; first infralabial small, left partly fused with mental; no external ear opening.
Body elongate; body scales smooth, cycloid, imbricate; flank, ventral, and dorsal scales equal in size; 22 longitudinal scale rows around midbody; 92 paravertebral scale rows; two enlarged, medial, precloacal scales; limbs small, degenerate (FL/ SVL =0.05; HDL / SVL =0.07) with two clawed digits; two subdigital lamellae on second fin- ger; two subdigital lamellae on second toe; tail robust, cylindrical; caudal scales equal in size, indiscernable from body scales; 48 presacral vertebrae.
Coloration. In life ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ), dorsal surface of head, body, and tail dark-brown; nuchal bands absent; no striping on body; lateral edges of dorsal and dorsolateral scales is slightly lighter; ventral surface pale yellowish-brown; throat pinkish gray with pale-brown mottling; underside of the tail yellowish-white with dark-brown mottling ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ); regenerated tail dark-brown; rostral, first supralabial, nasal, frontonasal, mental, and first infralabilal scales opaque ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ). In preservative, ventral color faded.
Distribution. Larutia kecil sp. nov. is known only from the Gunung Penrissen, Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ).
Natural history. The specimen was found under a dead log on the edge of a primary forest at an elevation of 1,000 m asl ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ). When uncovered, the individual attempted an escape with a quick serpentine motion. The species is probably fossorial or semifossorial like other species of the genus. Sphenomorphus cyanolaemus Inger & Hosmer 1965 and Tropidophorus beccarii Peters 1871 were observed close by in similar habitat. In addition, approximately 30 species of lizards have been recorded from Gunung Penrissen ( Das et al. 2016).
Etymology. The species name is from the Malay word “kecil”, meaning small, alluding to the small size of the new species.
Comparisons. Larutia kecil sp. nov. is clearly separated from all other species of Larutia by the number of subdigital lamellae beneath second toe (2 vs. 0 or 4 or 5; Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ). The new species is further separated from all other species except of L. penangensis and L. seribuatensis in smaller adult body size (84 vs. 97–191); from all other species except L. miodactyla and L. sumatrensis , in the number of scales around midbody (22 vs. 18 or 23–30); from all other species except L. larutensis , L. miodactyla and L. nubisilvicola , in that the first two pairs of chinshields contact one infralabial on each side (vs. contacting two infralabials); from L. penangensis in that the second chinshield is separated from the infralabials by a scale (vs. contacting infralabials); from L. larutensis (in juveniles only), L. seribuatensis , L. trifasciata , and L. nubisilvicola (in only one specimen) in the absence of nuchal bands ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ); from L. seribuatensis and some L. trifasciata in the absence of yellow spots on the head ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ); and from L. miodactyla , L. sumatrensis , and L. puehensis in having opaque scales on the snout ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ). Diagnostic characteristics are summarized across all species in Table 2 View TABLE .
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.