Sphenomorphus capitolythos Shea & Michels, 2008

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 : 726-728

Sphenomorphus capitolythos Shea & Michels, 2008

(Fig. 25)

Type locality. Elat , Kei Besar, Indonesia .

Distribution in the Kei Islands. This enigmatic, endemic species is only known from Kei Besar by specimens collected independently by Roux (1910) and Kopstein (1926). We did not collect any specimens of this species on our expeditions.

Natural history. Unknown, likely to be a semi-fossorial leaf-litter inhabitant based on body form.

Field identification. A medium-sized skink, SVL to 81 mm, with short limbs that are widely separated when adpressed. Kopstein (1926) described the colouration of the recently preserved specimen as follows: brown with irregularly arranged dark flecks, half a scale in size; the sides of the neck with faded grey reticulations; the lateral surfaces lighter brown; venter uniform yellowish ( Shea & Michels, 2008). According to Shea & Michels (2008), “the combination of grooved subdigital lamellae, a scaly lower eyelid lacking a central window, four supraoculars, third pair of chin shields medially separated by three scales but in lateral contact with the infralabials, no postsupraocular scale, and temporal region with no fragmentation or division of the last two supralabial scales, single primary temporal scale or upper and lower secondary temporal scales, and with the upper secondary temporal overlapping the lower secondary temporal, will differentiate this species from all other members of the Sphenomorphus group of lygosomine skinks ( Greer, 1979) in Indonesia, the New Guinea region, and Australia.”

Remarks. Kopstein (1926) originally described a new species from the Kei Islands, Lygosoma keiensis , however, the name was later found to be unavailable as it was already reserved as a junior synonym of Emoia cyanogaster [= Lygosoma cyanogaster keiensis Sternfeld, 1918 ] ( Shea & Michels, 2008). Given this, Shea & Michels (2008) designated a replacement name for the species, Sphenomorphus

Type locality. Timor.

Distribution in the Kei Islands. Roux reported this species on Kei Kecil, and we collected it only on Kur.

Natural history. This species was abundant in suitable habitat, and typically favored large tree buttress roots in closed forest. They were particularly common in the old nutmeg and clove trees on Kur. Sphenomorphus melanopogon ranges across southern Maluku and the lesser Sunda islands ( Shea, 2012) but the closest population to Kur is likely the Banda Islands if it is indeed absent from Kei Kecil (see remarks).

Field identification. Sphenomorphus melanopogon is most readily identified by the presence of a black throat that usually occurs in both males and females. Males usually have black throats and venters, while females may possess only a black throat or no darkened throat at all ( Shea, 2012). Finely striated dorsal scales; imbricate scales on the dorsal surface of the pes extending onto the plantar surface between the fourth and fifth digits; three or more supraoculars contacting the frontal; 40–42 mid-body scale rows (36–47 in other populations); 30 smoothly rounded fourth toe subdigital lamellae (26–34 in other populations); SVL to 66 mm in males ( Shea, 2012).

Remarks. This species was originally described as Lygosoma kühnei [= Sphenomorphus kuehnei ] by Roux (1910), but Shea (2012) later placed S. kuehnei as a junior synonym of S. melanopogon . Roux’s specimens, in addition to Lophognathus temporalis , were not collected by Roux himself, but purchased from a natural history dealer, Herman Rolle, that received the specimens from collector Herrn Kühne ( Roux, 1910; Shea, 2012). Shea (2012) believed the true locality for the S. kuehnei types to be Damar or Babar, as Kühne was known to travel there, and since L. temporalis is known from there. However, given that we have recently surveyed L. temporalis from Tam and Kur, it is plausible that one of these islands may represent the true locality for both species collected by Kühne and purchased by Roux. Furthermore, Tam and Kur have often been called part of the Kei Islands, and therefore it is possible that Kühne listed specimens from Tam and Kur as from the Kei Islands when he shipped them abroad. Therefore, if the population on Kur is found to constitute a separate species from S. melanopogon , the name kuehnei could be considered available. It is also possible that this is the only island in the Kei Islands where S. melanopogon occurs.

Fig. 26. Dorsal and ventral colouration of Sphenomorphus melanopogon from Kur (ALS 874; ALS 875; ALS 877). Males (center) show distinct black throat and ventral colouration, while females (left and right) show unpatterned venters.

Fig. 27. Specimens of Sphenomorphus undulatus collected from Kei Besar (ALS 785; ALS 787) and from Kur (ALS 1007). Males (leftmost) do not show different colour pattern to females (right two).

Sphenomorphus undulatus ( Peters & Doria, 1878) (Fig. 27)

Type locality. New Guinea .

Distribution in the Kei Islands. We found this species on Kei Besar and Kur, and Roux (1910) reported it from Kei Kecil.

Natural history. These lizards were collected on Kur by flipping pieces of wood found on the forest floor, and on Kei they were captured using sticky traps placed along rocks and pieces of wood. We caught specimens in sticky traps early in the morning, suggesting it is active at this time. However, nothing more is known about the natural history of this species.

Field identification. A small to medium sized Sphenomorphus ; elongate in shape with small, well-developed limbs; pale brown with brown spots or crossbands and a dorsolateral series of dark spots; seven supralabials; prefrontals separated; 24–34 mid-body scale rows; 17–23 keeled fourth toe subdigital lamellae; SVL 35–66 mm ( Greer & Shea, 2004).

Remarks. The specimens we collected key out to Sphenomorphus undulatus using the key provided by Greer & Shea (2004), and this is concordant with Roux’s (1910) attribution to this species presence on the Kei Islands. Kopstein (1926) listed Lygosoma [= Sphenomorphus ] aruanus Roux, 1910 as present on the Kei islands, though we believe this was in error, and likely refers to S. undulatus . Roux’s description of the holotype of L. aruanus differs from S. undulatus by having fewer 4th toe lamellae and supralabials: 16 lamellae and seven supralabials ( Roux, 1910) as opposed to 17–23 lamellae and 8 supralabials ( Greer & Shea, 2004), respectively. All specimens sampled on Kei Besar are more similar to S. undulatus in this respect. We collected no specimens of S. undulatus on Kei Kecil and consider S. aruanus as described by Roux (1910) to be restricted to Aru.