Asiatic Herpetological Research

1997

Vol. 7, pp. 61-67

A New skink from the Thai Desert of Pakistan
Muhammad S. Khan and Muhammad R. Z. Khan
Herp Laboratory, 15/6 Darul Saddar North, Rahwah 35460, Pakistan.
Abstract. - A new skink belonging to the genus Eumeces is morphologically described and compared with its
Pakistani congeners.

Key words: Eumeces indothalensis new species, description. Sauria, Scincidae, Eumeces160'1997

Asiatic Herpetological ResearchVol. 7. p. 6:

flecks which extend on limbs and tail.

zarudnyiand E. blythianus

areWhile both E.

included in theschneiderii group, which has no postnasal scale, frontal is

not in contact with interparietals, has a pair of

median dorsal row of wider scales on dorsum withHowever. Mertens
striped or unicolour pattern.
1946) gives E. zarudnyi and E. blythianus subspecies(Saharo-Sindhian E.

status of the widely distributed

The new species has strongschneiderii.

affinities

with E. schneiderii.

Figure 2A (top) and B (bottom).

Eumeces indothalen-Eumeces indothalensis, sp. nov.
Holotype: BMNH 1990.6 (MSK 0423.85, Fig. 2. A).
young male. from under roots of a common reed
Bar Ginga, 9plant, Sachharum moonja, near village

asis new species.

Km SW of Bakkar. midwestern Punjab. Pakistan.

Introduction
In early summer. 1984. the senior author picked up avivid dorsal stripedpair of eviscerated skinks with aMr.
skinks.
E.
taeniolatus
aoffromheap
pattern

32°.50' N. 7 1°

E, along west bank of Indus River, ele-Muhammad collector,

vation 75 m. Nazar

MSK 0422.85. (Fig. 2, B). an adultNazar Muhammad, an animal and plant collector forParatype:

local Hakims (physicians), was eviscerating almost amale, data as holotype, except 17 July, 1984.

sackful of living

mass of writhing and struggling

Eumeces taeniolatus skinks. He had collected the ani-

16 July,

1984.
(1):

Diagnosis: Medium sized skink, with dorsal patternof 5-7 dark brown stripes separated by alternating

mals from the roots of common reed-bush. Sachharum moonja, close to village Bar Ganga. 9 km SW

lightof Bakkhar. District Mianwali, western Punjab. Paki-limbs; nasal scale resting on

The eviscerated lizards were to be sun-dried andsold in the market as reg mahi at Rs. 500-800 per 500
gram. Dried skinks are in great demand since theno postnasal; interparietal about
half the size of frontal and is of the same shape: twostan.

stuff

used

isin

severalaphrodisiac

preparations(Khan. 1991. in press).
Laboratory examination of the striped pair ofskinks proved that they belong to awhich is being described here.

newspecies,

used:

Harvard University. Cambridge.
MSK=Herp Laboratory. 15/6 Darul Saddar
Zoology,parativeUSA;

sutureNorth, Rabwah 35460, Pakistan.

species1854),E.

inPakistan:blythianus

(J.

E.

taeniolatus

Anderson.

(Blvth.

1871) and E.

zarudnyi Nikolsky. 1899 (Minton. 1966; Mertens,1969; Khan and Mirza, 1977) (Fig. 1). Taylor (1935)
revised the genus Eumeces distinguishing it into sev-placing E. taeniolatus in the Taewhich is characterized by theeral species groups:

niolatus

Group,

presence of a postnasal, frontal in contact withwidened
parietal, a single row of median dorsal muchinter-scales,

dorsum solden yellowish with light and darksupralabial; nasal

azygos postmentals: 52-56 scales in paired middorsal
row of wider scales; posterior loreal and presuboculars longer than deep; no intercalary scales between
subdigital lamellae.

Descriptionof

Rostralholotype:its

ashighaspart visible from above distinctly

narrower than frontonasal, broadly truncate posteriSupranasals lateral, about thrice as long asorly.
reaching mesially to form a suture above
nasals, the length of which equals the breadth of thebroad,from above.

Frontonasal transverse,

rostralvisiblemuchsmaller than prefrontals, extend considerably

betweenanterior loreal.

The cosmopolitan genus Eumeces is represented byfirsthorizontal;

forward

Taxonomic Considerations
threestripes,broad.triangular.

BMNH=Bntish Museum(Natural History). London; MCZ=Museum of ComAbbreviations

extending on to the tail, no
scattered scales of different colour on the body andnarrower

supranasals.

laterallycontacting

Prefrontals two. hexagonal, forming a

median suture, contacting on sides with both loreals
and first supraciliary.

Frontal as long as its distancefrom rostral tip. abruptly truncated to a median pointat anterior and posterior end, its length about twice its
three supraorbitals.
greatest breadth, in contact withmedian suture
Frontoparietals hexagonal, forming awhich is in line with that of prefrontals.
longer than broad, about half theand of the same shape, much longer
offrontal
lengthInterprietal

than frontoparietals, abruptly truncated at both ends,
posteriorly bordered by first pairof nuchals. Parietal,

Asiatic Herpetological Research

1997

Table 1.

Vol. 7, p. 63

Pholidosic counts and measurements of the type series of the new species Eumeces indothalensis(br=broken).

CharacterVol. 7, p. 64

Asiatic Herpetological Research

to the posterior of eye, separating supraciliaries

short,anterior

whenstretched

forwardclaws reaching to eye, posterior reaching to the level

pelpebral scales.

A series of 7 supraciliaries. first largest, a little
smaller thanLimbsfrom

1997

first

supraocular, extending on to headof mid-abdomen; when thighs are bent at right angle
to the body, toes freely overlap.

Limbs with smooth

top to contact with prefrontal, second longest, while

cycloid scales in parallel longitudinal rows, 17 at mid-A

upper arm. 14 mid-fore arm. mid-thigh 22 and 14
rows scales, no intercalary scales. Claws strong withseventh about as high as first but half of its size.
pair of small postoculars and three obliquerows of

granular scales touching lower palpebrals. Supraoculars 4, first three in contact with frontal, parietal sepa-

A single

rates fourth from upper secondary temporal.

primary temporal, quadrangular, oblique; secondary
temporals two, upper as broad as parietal, lower verti-

produced anteriorly to touch primary temporal.
Two tertiary temporals, upper smaller, lower vertical,cal,about twice as long as broad.
Eight supralabials, first five anterior to eye, sixth
subocular about twice as long as high, first smallest,
subtriangular, narrower along oral orifice. 7th and 8th

subequal and largest, 8th supralabial separated fromear by four scales occupying a space equaling thewidth of 8th supralabial. A slightly distinct preocularfrom pelpebral

Ear opening

scales.

vertical,oval,preauricular lobes 3/3, upper two broad reaching to
the middle of the auditory meatus, third very small.

Mental scale broader than rostral.

A pair of azygos

a basal solid part and long sharp broader tip.

Color (in formalin): Seven vivid dark brown longitudinal stripes on body:a single median dorsal starts

from behind inter parietal and extends to the level ofvent;second dorsal, paired, from behind parietals tothe level of vent, join each other at the level of vent,

do not extend on

tail; third pair, from behind eye
extends laterally to groin than along lateroventral sideof tail; fourth pair from behind ear above shoulder toThe dark brown stripes separated from eachother by narrower lighter stripes, making the patterngroin.

distinct.

Head uniform brownish, lips, chin and ven-trum light yellowish. Measurements (in mm):
vent length

Snout(SVL) 57. tail length (TL) 40 (broken),snout to eye 4, snout to ear 13 snout to fore limb 21,
axilla to groin 30. head length 13, head breadth 9.

Table

Variation:

1summarizes pholidosic and mea-surement variations in the type series. Both specimen

postmentals, first as broad and as long as mental, second about twice broader than first, mesially produced

have broken tails, MSK 0422.84 after

backwards between

first0422.84 is injured, not allowing detailed morphologi-

shields three pairs,

first inpair of chin shields; chincontact, second separated

from each other by a scale while third by three scales.
Infralabials seven, 7th largest.

Body scales smooth, polished, imbricate, regular,
arrangedinlongitudinalparallelrows;

scalesofwhile holotype after 33rd.
cal study.

ever.

MSK 0422.84 has 9 stripes on dorsum, while

Head uniform brownish in both specimens, however, supralabials

brownish specks in the paratype.

from postmental to the level of vent; 33
axilla41:

mid-abdomen

26,aroundgroin 29 and 51 from armpit to groin.

Median dorsal pair of enlarged scales extends on
the tail dorsum.
tion,

At base, the tail squarish in cross sec-

becoming round at middle, with a very gradualtaper toits

pointedtip.

A median ventral series oftransversely enlarged subcaudals, 33 in holotype, as
tail is broken.
A pair of large median preanal scalesuiTounded anterolaterally by 8 smaller scales, overlapped later ally by the median large scales; a distinct
tubercular large scale on each side of the anal slit;
four postanal transverse rows of smaller scales, with aMSK

there are seven in holotype.

ilar except abdominals

around neck,subcaudal

A part differences in snout-vent length and

52. from parietal to the level of vent. All ventrals sim-ventrals 60,

Ithsome minor differences in scale counts the type series
is consistent in other pholidosic characteristics, how-median dorsal two rows 3-4 times broader than long,which are slightly larger; mid-I

Snout region of

Etymology:

and preauricular lobules are with

The name indothalensis refers to thepart of the Thai Desert lying on the western bank ofIndus

River,

northwestern

Punjab.

Pakistan,fromwhere the new species was collected.

Comparison: According to the collector, Mr. Nazar
Muhammad. Eumeces taeniolatus is sympatric with
the new species in the type locality and is much morecommon. E. taeniolatus differs from the new species
in having a postnasal, single row of broadened mediandorsals, frontal in contact with interparietal, dorsum
pale grey to bronze, speckled with creamy specks,
three dark brown stripes on dorsum with pale specks,
tailand limbs similarly speckled.

On the other handshallow transverse postanal pit; 22 scales round thetail base just posterior to the lateral anal tubercularabsence of postnasal scale, median dorsal double rowscale.

separation of frontal from inteiparietal warrant inclusion of the new species in the Schneiderii Group (Tay-of broadened scales, a pair of azygos postmentals andlor,1935).

1997

Asiatic Herpetological ResearchVol. 7, p. 65

Table 2. Comparison of pholidosic and measurement data of Eumeces indothalensis new species with its congeners; br=broken. (Data except of type series and E.zarudnyi from Taylor, 1935. Data for E. zarudnyi partiallythrough courtesy Dr. Rosaldo [per. comm.] for material in Museum of Comparative Zoology collected by Loveridge[1959] from Balochistan).

CharacterTable 2 summarizes comparison of the new species,E.

congeners of theE. blythianus (Anderson) known
withindothalensis

Schneiderii Group:scales from occiput to above anus, 3 pairs of nuchals.
Plate(1935,6)

illustrates

Eblythianus(BMNH 98.7.12.1) from Afridi country (Waziristan.
southern borderline of N.W.F.P.

with Afghanistan,it from thehas
alsoFinn(1898)
reported
similarly
area. Taylor's photograph shows dorsal pattern of lon-gitudinal stripes on olive-brown dorsum separated bynarrower light stripes exactly matching with the dorsal pattern of thenew species (Fig. 2,A,B).

A similar

young E. blythianus from Karachi (Minton.

striped

Acknowledgments

itsfrom Punjab, differs from the new species in having asingle postmental, 30 scales round midbody, 50-60
Taylor1997

Asiatic Herpetological ResearchVol. 7, p. 66

Our special thanks are due to Mr. Jose P. Rosado,
Department of Herpetology,
Museum of Comparative Zoology. Harvard Univer-CuratorialAssociate.

Cambridge. USA. for providing photographs,measurements and scale counts of the skinks colsity,

lected by Dr. Loveridge from Balocistan

1959).

(Ourthanks are also due to Dr. Robert W. Murphy, Royal

Ontario

Museum Toronto, Canada, for exchange ofideas and providing pertinent literature

which madethis study possible.

Literature CitedFinn, F.

1898.

Notes on a specimen of the rare scin-1966, plate 19, 2). is reported to have unicolour pinkcoid lizard Eumeces blythianus (Anderson) from theMertens (1969) reports similar

Afridi country, with exhibition of the type-specimens.

adult phase (Fig. 2).

from Astola Island off the Karachi coast. Apinkish unicolour skink has been reported fromlizards

Sheikh Manda near Quetta. Balochistan by Khan andAhmed
pattern,(E. princeps also has a striped1987).

however,itsarejuveniles

adultpattemless(Mertens, 1969).

southwestern Iran and southern Balochistan (Loveridge. 1959), differs from the new species in having 56 preauricular lobules, wider head, and uniform grey

Whilewide ranging Saharo-Sindhianskink E. schneiderii which is known from Mekran toWaziristan, differs from E. indothalensis in having 66
themid dorsal row. 24 scales around midbody, subocular as wide as high, dorsum brown orscales in theolive,

1

Ingoldby. C. M. and J. B.

median dorsal rows shaded dark with lightdim dorsolateral line and spotted hindspots, a very

1923.

Proctor.

Notes on acollection of reptilia from Waziristan and the adjoin-ing portion of the N. W. Frontier Province. Journal
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Khan. M. S.

The second species. E. zarudnyi, nikolsky, fromdorsum.

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Endangered species of reptiles ofsuggested conservation measures.
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andtion, Islamabad 42-45

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in press.

Colour guide to the Reptiles

and Amphibians of Pakistan. Robert E. Krieger. Publishing Company. Melbourne. Florida.

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Eumeces indothalensis, isunique among Pakistani eumecid lizards in having thechecklist and key to the reptiles of Pakistan.

Thenasal

newscalespecies,

resting exactly

on thefirstsupralabial

which is triangular and does not touch second labial;
horizontal nasal suture which passes above nostril, theposterior to rostral-labial suture: dorsal
part of rostral much narrower than frontonasal; suboc-

nostrillies

ular longer than broad,its

ocular side longer thanlabial side; second loreal longer than broad; presuboc-

ular much longer than broad; interparietal as long asparietals, exactly of the shape of frontal but half of itssize;

threepreauricularbroader than long, thirdlobules,

upper two much

much smaller;

1-2 pairs ofnuchals with an additional azygos nuchal; no interca-1977.

Part II:

Sauria (Lacertilia). Biologia (Lahore) 23:41-64.

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Loveridge, A.

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Reptiles and amphibians col-lected by the expedition in Saudi Arabia and in Bal-uchistan

andBahawalpur,West-Pakistan.

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Dritte Mitteilung ber der Rassen

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Senckenbergiana

biology, Frankfurt a.M. 27:53-62.

1959. Ber einiuge seltene Eidechsen auslary scales between subdigital lamellae; dorsum withMertens, R.

seven dark brown stripes, which increase to nine

West-Pakistan. Aquar-Terra-Zeits. 12:307-310.

inadult (paratype) rather to disappear and become uni-colour as in E. blxthianus (Minton. 1966).

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