First record of Scincella fansipanensis Okabe, Motokawa, Koizumi, Nguyen, Nguyen & Bui, 2024 (Squamata, Scincidae) from China

By

Xu, Yuhao
Liao, Chencan
Poyarkov, Nikolay
Weng, Shiyang
Deng, Jundong
Bragin, Andrei
Zhang, Tierui
Nguyen, Tan
Peng, Lifang

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-8-12

Original Publication

Biodiversity data journal

Volume

13

Pages

1--22

Subjects

Ailao Mountain , Morphology , new record , Phylogeny , Scincella , Scincella potanini–S. monticola complex

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers [2013]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e161782

 

Abstract

The Fansipan ground skink, Scincella fansipanensis Okabe, Motokawa, Koizumi, Nguyen, Nguyen &amp; Bui, was recently described from Fansipan Mountain, Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam. Herein, we report the first national record of this species from China, based on four specimens collected from Ailao Mountain, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province.<br> Morphologically, the Chinese specimens are consistent with the type series, but differ slightly in possessing a higher number of ventral scales (including gulars) and relatively shorter fore-limbs. Phylogenetic analyses, based on CO1 sequences, place the Chinese specimens within the S. fansipanensis clade; however, uncorrected p-distances of 6.5–7.3% between the Chinese and Vietnamese populations suggest moderate genetic divergence. This level of differentiation may reflect historical isolation by the Red River Basin's complex topography and the low dispersal ability of Scincella species. This record raises the number of the genus Scincella species known from China to 15.