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Lioscincus maruia, A New Species of Lizard (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia, Southwest Pacific

1998; University of Hawaii Press; Volume: 52; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

1534-6188

Ross A. Sadlier, A. H. Whitaker, Aaron M. Bauer,

Plant and animal studies

A new species of scincid lizard, Lioscincus maruia Sadlier, Whi­ taker & Bauer, n. sp., is described from the central ranges of New Caledonia. It is a moderate-sized species of skink with a particularly long tail. It is known from only a single location in maquis shrubland and appears to be restricted to this habitat type. The species is considered vulnerable because of the restricted and fragmented nature of its habitat, and the potential for fire and mining ac­ tivities to threaten that habitat type. In overall morphology Lioscincus maruia is most similar to Lioscincus tillieri Ineich & Sadlier, a species from maquis habi­ tat in adjacent ranges to the south. MATERIALS AND METHODS type, although not as rich in total number of lizard species, does contain several that are either largely dependent upon or endemic to it. Field research over the past 5 yr has iden­ tified Lioscincus tillieri (Ineich and Sadlier 1991) as reliant on maquis habitat in the southern ultramafic region. During the course of survey work on Me Adeo in the central ranges of New Caledonia, a new species of skink was collected from mid-altitude maquis habitat. This new species is very similar to L. tillieri in size and body proportions, col­ oration, and behavior. At the type locality it was found only in maquis habitat, and it most likely represents a second species of skink reliant on this habitat type. FIELD RESEARCH IN New Caledonia over the past 10 yr has greatly increased our knowl­ edge of the diversity and distribution of the island's lizards. Most field research has been conducted in closed-forest habitat, the habi­ tat type with the greatest diversity and rich­ ness of lizard species. Survey work in closed forest on Mt. Panie (300-1600+ m asl) and Mt. Aoupinie (500-1000+ m asl) has re­ vealed a species richness of 13 and 17 species, respectively, or approximately 20 and 30%, respectively, of the island's total lizard fauna. Included in this estimate of total species richness for the island are six undescribed species of Caledoniscincus, all from closed­ forest habitat. By contrast, the reptile fauna of maquis shrubland, a habitat that charac­ terizes much of the southern ultramafic re­ gion of New Caledonia, has been poorly studied. However, opportunistic collections made in maquis habitat suggest that this vegetation