Carlia fusca ( Duméril & Bibron, 1839 )

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 : 721-722

Carlia fusca ( Duméril & Bibron, 1839)

(Fig. 17)

Type locality. Waigeo , Indonesia .

Distribution in the Kei Islands. We collected this species from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, and Kur. We observed this species on Tam, though we were unable to collect a specimen.

Fig. 16. Photo of Leiden Naturalis Biodiversity Center specimen of the subspecies holotype of Nactus pelagicus undulatus collected by Kopstein in 1923 ( RMNH. RENA.5095) .

Field identification. Cyrtodactylus and Nactus are the only gecko genera present in the Kei islands that lack dilated toepads. The holotype of N. pelagicus undulatus shows distinct rows of tubercles along the back, which is in contrast to the relatively disorganised tubercle arrangement on Cyrtodactylus on Kei. In addition, Cyrtodactylus from the Kei islands possesses a ventrolateral fold whereas Nactus normally does not. We present a photo of Kopstein’s original specimen that was provided by Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden (Fig. 16). The holotype possesses 10 precloacal pores, 12 rows of tubercles on the back, and a pattern consisting of wavy V-shaped cross-bands. The holotype also lacks the enlarged postmental scales typical of Cyrtodactylus ( Bauer & Henle, 1994) .

Remarks. Nactus pelagicus is usually composed of unisexual parthenogenetic female populations on Pacific Islands, though many bisexual populations do exist including several on New Guinea ( Zug & Moon, 1995). There are many undescribed species of Nactus remaining ( Zug & Moon, 1995), and thus the subspecies undulatus may warrant recognition as a full species upon further examination.

Natural history. Carlia fusca is abundant in heavily disturbed areas where direct sunlight penetrates to the ground. We often encountered them on and around recently fallen trees in cleared areas. They are often active in leaf litter terrestrially and rarely climb. They are much more abundant in open, highly disturbed habitat than C. beccarii on islands where the two co-occur but appear to be displaced by C. beccarii in more closed, pristine habitat.

Field identification. Carlia and Lygisaurus are the only skinks with four fingers on the Kei Islands. Lygisaurus is comparatively smaller and more gracile, with reduced leg length in proportion to the body. Carlia fusca on Kei is a uniform brown colouration in life, sometimes with two dark dorsolateral stripes along the body, while C. beccarii is much more patterned with black sides and a much more robust, stocky body. SVL 46–59 mm, 30–36 mid-body scale rows, 26–35 fourth toe subdigital lamellae ( Zug, 2004).

Remarks. Zug (2004) referred to the Kei Islands Carlia fusca group lizards as “Kai unicolor” and did not wish to taxonomically assign this population without further sampling. Our morphological and molecular analysis (unpublished data) place this population within what is referred to as C. ailanpalai ( Zug, 2004) by Austin et al. (2011) and the populations from Kei are closely related to Clades B and C of their study that have colonised Papua New Guinea, Guam, Palau, New Britain, and New Ireland, likely through human-mediated dispersal. Our genetic results also show very little genetic differentiation in this clade of lizards and we choose to use the name C. fusca to maintain stability.

Carlia beccarii ( Peters & Doria, 1878)

(Figs. 18, 19)

Type locality. Tual , Kei Islands, Indonesia .

Distribution in the Kei Islands. Endemic to the Kei Islands. We collected large series of Carlia beccarii from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, and Tam, all of which clearly match the original species description of Peters & Doria (1878). This species was not found on our expedition to Kur Island, and we suggest that it may not be present there.

Fig. 17. A photo of a Carlia fusca from Palau Ai (Banda Islands). No photo was available for the Kei Islands population, but it is similar in morphology.

Fig. 18. Photo in life of Carlia beccarii from Tam (BRK 185).

Natural history. Individuals are commonly encountered amongst the leaf litter in disturbed and primary forest.

Field identification. Carlia beccarii is a robust lizard with four digits on the forelimbs and dark black patterned sides and silver/gold spots of colour along the dorsal surface in life. In comparison, Carlia fusca is of more gracile build and is a uniform brown with two dorsolateral stripes in some individuals. SVL 60–80 mm, 36–41 mid-body scale rows, 30–34 fourth toe subdigital lamellae ( Zug, 2004).