Scincella qianica Xu, Weng, Poyarkov, Zhang, Deng & Peng, 2025

Scincella qianica Xu, Weng, Poyarkov, Zhang, Deng & Peng sp. nov.

Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 , 7 View Figure 7

Type material.

Holotype • QHU R 2025002 , adult male, collected by the team of Lifang Peng on March 23, 2025 from Baiyun District , Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, China (26°39'28"N, 106°40'20"E, 1320 m a. s. l.). GoogleMaps

Paratypes (n = 3) • QHU R 2025001 and • CIB 119376 View Materials , both adult males, collected by the team of Lifang Peng on March 8, 2025 from the same locality as the holotype GoogleMaps • QHU R 2025003 , juvenile, with the same collecting information as the holotype GoogleMaps .

Referred specimen.

• CIB CB 25 GZ 04 , a fragmented dead specimen, collected by the team of Sikan Chen on August 13, 2021 from Niulan River Gorge , Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China (26°54'41"N, 103°45'58"E, 1542 m a. s. l) GoogleMaps .

Etymology.

The specific name “ qianica ” is a Latinized adjective in nominative singular (feminine gender), derived from Chinese “Qián” (黔), the traditional abbreviation for Guizhou Province, China, where the new species was discovered. For the common names, we suggested “ Guizhou Ground Skink” in English and “Qián Huá Xī” (黔滑蜥) in Chinese.

Diagnosis.

Scincella qianica sp. nov. can be diagnosed from other Scincella species by the following unique combination of characters: (1) medium body size in adults (SVL length up to 44.8 mm); (2) tail relatively long, TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 in specimens with intact tails; (3) toes not in contact with fingers when limbs adpressed, FLL + HLL / AGD ratio 0.80–0.91; (4) infralabials six to seven; (5) supraciliaries six, rarely seven; (6) tympanum deeply sunk, without lobules; (7) primary temporal single; (8) three pairs of nuchals; (9) midbody scale row counts 26; (10) paravertebral scale row counts 61–66; (11) ventral scale row counts 46–53; (12) 9–10 enlarged lamellae beneath finger IV, and 13–14 beneath toe IV; (13) the dark dorsolateral stripes with relatively straight upper edge, extends from the tip of snout to the end of tail, with 1 / 2 + 4 + 1 / 2 rows of dorsal scales in the middle; (14) ventral surface covered with discontinuous black longitudinal stripes.

Description of the holotype.

An adult male specimen with original tail (Fig. 3 A 1, B 1 View Figure 3 ). Size medium, SVL 44.8 mm, TAL 82.9 mm, TAL / SVL ratio 1.85. Axilla-groin distance relatively long, AGD 25.2 mm (AGD / SVL 0.56). Head elongated, indistinct from the neck, HL 9.51 mm, HW 5.35 mm, HH 4.10 mm. Snout short, obtuse, round anteriorly, ESD 2.63 mm, EN 1.96 mm. Ear oval, tympanum recessed, EL 1.51 mm. Eye large, ED 2.03 mm; lower eyelid with undivided transparent disc (window), PDD 0.79 mm. Limbs relatively short, toes not in contact with fingers when limbs adpressed, FLL 8.68 mm, HLL 12.13 mm, F 4 L 2.11 mm, T 4 L 3.88 mm, FLL / SVL ratio 0.19, HLL / SVL ratio 0.27, FLL + HLL / AGD ratio 0.83.

Head scalation (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ). Rostral wider than high, visible dorsally, in contact with the 1 st SL, nasals, and frontonasal; supranasals absent; FrN one, subtrapezoidal, width about twice the height., in contact with rostral, nasals, anterior loreals, prefrontals and frontal; PF two, not in contact with each other, separated medially by frontal; frontal slender, longer than wide, diamond-shaped, in contact with the 1 st and 2 nd supraoculars laterally; a pair of FrP, in contact with each other anteriorly, bordered by frontal, 2 nd to 4 th supraoculars, interparietal and parietals; interparietal small, diamond-shaped, width approximately equal to height; P large, in contact posteriorly, posterolateral border contacting the upper secondary temporals, and enlarged nuchals; enlarged nuchals in three pairs. Nostril oval, in the middle of the nasal; nasal entire, diamond-shaped, width approximately equal to height, in contact with the rostral, frontonasal, anterior loreal and the 1 st supralabial; Lor 2, the anterior one subrhombic, the posterior one slightly larger and inverted subtrapezoidal-shaped; SCI 6 / 6, the anterior two largest; SO four, the 1 st contacts the frontal, the 2 nd largest and contacts both the frontal and frontoparietals, the 3 rd and 4 th contact the frontoparietals; lower eyelid bearing a undivided transparent window, surrounded small palpebral scales; TEMP 1 + 2, the anterior one subhexagonal, the upper secondary temporal is the largest, while the lower one is smaller and broadly contacts the upper; SL 7 / 7, 1 st smallest, 5 th below the window, 6 th largest. Mental wider than long, round anteriorly, in contact with the 1 st IL and postmental; postmental large and subpentagonal, contacting the mental, the first two infralabials on each side, and the first pair of chin shields; IL 6 / 6, 1 st smallest, 5 th largest; chin shields in three pairs, the first pair in contact medially, the second pair separated by one gular scale, and the third pair separated by three gulars; GS 20.

Body scalation (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ). Body scales smooth, MBSR 26; dorsal scales widened, larger than the lateral and ventral scales, PVSR 61, dorsal scales between dorsolateral stripes 1 / 2 + 4 + 1 / 2; ventral scales slightly enlarged medially, decreasing toward the flanks, VS 46 (GS + VS 66); enlarged median precloacals two, overlapped by the lateral precloacals, and the left median scale overlaps the right; tail base thick, the anterior third part nearly uniform, gradually tapering from the middle toward the tip. The subcaudals at the base of the tail are nearly equal in size and arranged alternately along the midline. Beginning with the eighth subcaudal, the medial scales become vertically elongated and form a single midventral row. limbs pentadactyl; dorsal surface of the fourth finger and toe mostly covered with two rows of supradigital scales, with the terminal two scales arranged in a single row; F 4 S 9, T 4 S 13.

Coloration of the holotype in life (Fig. 3 A 1, B 1 View Figure 3 ). In life, dorsal surface of the head is copper-colored, scattered with small, irregular black-brown spots. The upper margin of the lateral head is dark brown, gradually fading to brown below, scattered with irregular black-brown spots. Ventral surface of the head is creamy white, with a few large black-brown blotches. The lateral edges of the infralabials, chin shields, and some gulars are black-brown, forming about ten discontinuous longitudinal stripes.

Dorsal surface of the body is copper-colored, with three longitudinal stripes composed of contiguous, irregular black blotches of varying sizes. The stripes on both sides are more distinct and continuous, extending from the neck to the end of the tail, and the stripe in the middle is a little disorderly and only reaches the base of the tail. The dark dorsolateral stripes with relatively straight upper edges extend from the tip of the snout, passes over superciliaries, and continues to the end of the tail, covering about 1–1.5 scale rows on the trunk.

The ground color of the lateral body is light creamy yellow, densely covered with extremely fine brown speckles, making the upper half of the flanks appear almost uniformly brown. The speckles gradually become sparser lower on the body and absent near the ventral surface.

Ventral pale yellow. Along both sides, the lateral edges of many ventral scales are black brown, forming discontinuous longitudinal stripes that roughly align with the stripes on the ventral head. Toward the midline, the stripes become fainter and more fragmented. Dorsal and ventral surfaces of limbs match the body, scattered with black-brown blotches. The anterior one-fifth of the ventral tail is pale yellow, gradually transitioning to light gray posteriorly, with scattered grayish-brown spots.

Coloration of the holotype in preservation (Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ). After one month of preservation in ethanol, the coloration remains similar to that in life, except that the lateral body appears paler, the background color of the venter becomes cream white, and that of the ventral tail turns grayish white.

Variation.

The paratypes exhibit coloration similar to the holotype, except that QHU R 2025001 shows distinct and continuous black-brown longitudinal stripes along the entire ventral surface of the head and body, and the black-brown blotches on the dorsum of QHU R 2025003 are more irregular and barely form longitudinal stripes (Figs 3 B 1, B 2, C 1, C 2 View Figure 3 , 7 View Figure 7 ). In scalation features, there is the following variation: (1) TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 (n = 4); (2) PVSR 61–66 (n = 4); (3) VS 46–53 (n = 4); (4) GS 21–24, GS + VS 66–75 (n = 4); (5) SCI 6–7 (n = 4); (6) IL 6–7 (n = 4); (7) FrN divided into two scales in specimens QHU R 2025001 and CIB 119376 ; (8) F 4 S 9–10, T 4 S 13–14 (n = 4). The measurements and scalation features of the Scincella specimens from Guizhou Province are listed in Table 3 View Table 3 .

Distribution and habitat.

Scincella qianica sp. nov. is currently known only from two localities in Guizhou Province, China: Baiyun District, Guiyang City, and Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County, Bijie City. The two sites are located in central and western Guizhou, respectively, with more than 300 km apart, suggesting that the new species may have a broader distribution than currently recorded. All type specimens were found during the daytime under rocks or decaying wood in well-preserved coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, at elevations of around 1300 m (Fig. 8 View Figure 8 ). The ambient temperature at the time was approximately 20 ° C. In contrast, the specimen CIB CB 25 GZ 04 was found in a river valley at elevations above 1500 m, where the surrounding habitat was mainly composed of shrubs and meadows. At the time of discovery, the right forelimb and part of the body of this specimen had already been gnawed by other animals.

Comparisons.

Detailed information and morphological comparisons between Scincella qianica sp. nov. and six genetically closest species are provided in Table 4 View Table 4 .

In both morphology and molecular data, Scincella qianica sp. nov. is closely related to S. alia , S. chengduensis , S. fansipanensis Okabe, Motokawa, Koizumi, Nguyen, Nguyen, & Bui, 2024 , S. liangshanensis , S. monticola and S. potanini . However, the new species can be distinguished from S. alia by (1) a larger ratio of TAL / SVL (1.76–2.14 vs. 1.5–1.8); (2) T 4 S 13–14 (vs. T 4 S 11–13); (3) smaller ratio of FLL / SVL (0.18–0.21 vs. 0.20–0.27); (4) by having straight edges of dark dorsolateral lines (vs. wavy); and (5) by the presence of dark stripes on belly (vs. absence); from S. chengduensis by (1) MBSR 26 (vs. 23); (2) PVSR 61–66 (VS. 57–60); (3) VS 46–53, GS + VS 66–75 (vs. VS 42–44, GS + VS 64–65); (4) T 4 S 13–14 (vs. 10–12); (5) a greater ratio of TAL / SVL (1.76–2.14 vs. 1.59); (6) smaller ratio of FLL / SVL (0.19–0.21 vs. 0.21–0.26); and (7) venter surface with black-brown longitudinal stripes (vs. ventral surface densely covered with dark spots). It can be distinguished from S. fansipanensis by (1) MBSR 26 (vs. 22 or 24); (2) GS + VS 66–75 (vs. 58–64); (3) T 4 S 13–14 (vs. 10–12); (4) venter surface with black-brown longitudinal stripes (vs. dark-colored markings on the ventral surface absent). It can be distinguished from S. liangshanensis by (1) PVSR 61–66 (vs. 69–80); (2) shorter SVL (27.7–44.8 mm vs. 43.1–61.9 mm); (3) tail comparatively longer, TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 (vs. 0.96–1.71); (4) the dorsolateral stripes covered about 1–1.5 scale rows (vs. 1.5–2.5); and (5) venter surface with black-brown longitudinal stripes (vs. dark-colored markings on the ventral surface absent). It can be distinguished from S. monticola by (1) PVSR 61–66 (VS. 69–73); (2) MBSR 26 (vs. 23–25); (3) T 4 S 13–14 (vs. 10–12); (4) tail comparatively longer, TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 (vs. 1.61); and (5) venter surface with black-brown longitudinal stripes (vs. dark-colored markings on the ventral surface absent). It can be distinguished from S. potanini by (1) tail comparatively longer, TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 (vs. 1.02–1.12); (2) greater ratio of EL / PDD (1.65–1.92 vs. 0.79–1.25); (3) the dorsolateral stripes covered about 1–1.5 scale rows (vs. 1.5–3); and (4) venter surface with black-brown longitudinal stripes (vs. dark-colored markings on the ventral surface absent).

For the other three congeners in China that have 1 / 2 + 4 + 1 / 2 dorsal scale rows between the dorsolateral stripes, Scincella qianica sp. nov. can be distinguished from S. tsinlingensis by fewer PVSR (61–66 vs. 70–90), fewer GS + VS (66–75 vs. 83–98), greater ratio of EL / PDD (1.65–1.92 vs. 0.80–1.14) and comparatively longer tail (TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 vs. 1.24–1.42); from S. huanrenensis by fewer PVSR (61–66 vs. 66–79), greater ratio of EL / PDD (1.65–1.92 vs. 0.61–1.14), and comparatively longer tail (TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 vs. 1.19–1.47); and from S. schmidti by having PVSR 61–66 (vs. 68–91), T 4 S 13–14 (vs. 11–12), and the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes relatively straight (vs. wavy).

Compared to the Chinese congeners with six or eight dorsal scale rows between the dorsolateral stripes, Scincella qianica sp. nov. can be distinguished from S. barbouri by fewer T 4 S (13–14 vs. 15–17) and the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes relatively straight (vs. wavy); from S. doriae by fewer MBSR (26 vs. 30–32), fewer T 4 S (13–14 vs. 15–18), the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes relatively straight (vs. wavy), and toes not in contact with fingers when limbs adpressed (vs. overlapping); from S. formosensis by fewer T 4 S (13–14 vs. 14–18) and the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes relatively straight (vs. wavy); from S. modesta by comparatively longer tail, (TAL / SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 vs. 1.2–1.4), more PVSR (61–66 vs. 51–62) and upper margin of lateral longitudinal striation relatively straight (vs. wavy); from S. przewalskii by more supraoculars (4 vs. 3) and fewer T 4 S (13–14 vs. 17); from S. reevesii by fewer T 4 S (13–14 vs. 15–18) and the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes relatively straight straight (vs. wavy), and from S. wangyuezhaoi by fewer MBSR (26 vs. 27–30).

In addition, Scincella qianica sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from other Asian congeners as follows: from S. apraefrontalis Nguyen, Nguyen, Böhme & Ziegler, 2010 , S. auranticaudata Nguyen, Nguyen, Le, Nguyen, Phan, Vo, Murphy & Che, 2025 , S. badenensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Nguyen & Murphy, 2019 , S. baraensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Nguyen & Murphy, 2020 , S. capitanea Ouboter, 1986 , S. darevskii Nguyen, Ananjeva, Orlov, Rybaltovsky & Böhme, 2010 , S. devorator (Darevsky, Orlov & Cuc, 2004) , S. honbaensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Le, Nguyen, Phan, Vo, Murphy & Che, 2025 , S. melanosticta , S. nigrofasciata Neang, Chan & Poyarkov, 2018 , S. ochracea (Bourret, 1937) , S. ouboteri Pham, Pham, Le, Ngoc, Ziegler & Nguyen, 2024 , S. rara ( Darevsky and Orlov 1997) , S. rufocaudata (Darevsky & Nguyen Van Sang, 1983) , S. rupicola (Smith, 1916) , S. truongi Pham, Ziegler, Pham, Hoang, Ngo & Le, 2025 , and S. vandenburghi ( Schmidt, 1927) by having 26 MBSR (vs. 18 in S. apraefrontalis , 34–36 in S. auranticaudata , 32–36 in S. badenensis , 30 in S. baraensis , 30–32 in S. capitanea , 28 in S. darevskii , 28–30 in S. devorator , 28 in S. honbaensis , 30–32 in S. melanosticta , 32–33 in S. nigrofasciata , 30–32 in S. ochracea , 30–32 in S. ouboteri , 24 in S. rara , 30–34 in S. rufocaudata , 33–36 in S. rupicola , 28 in S. truongi , and 28–30 in S. vandenburghi ); from S. boettgeri by fewer T 4 S (13–14 vs. 15–16); from S. dunan Koizumi, Ota & Hikida, 2022 by fewer VS (46–53 vs. 55–65), and the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes relatively straight (vs. wavy); from S. punctatolineata Boulenger, 1893 by nuchals present (vs. absent); and from S. victoriana (Shreve, 1940) by more PVSR (61–66 vs. 50–54), more GS + VS (66–75 vs. 53–56), and scales smooth (vs. keeled).