Lobulia Greer 1974
Creators: name: Slavenko, Alex
name: Tamar, Karin
name: Tallowin, Oliver J S
name: Kraus, Fred
name: Allison, Allen
name: Carranza, Salvador
name: Meiri, Shai
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Squamata
Scincidae
Lobulia

description: LOBULIA GREER, 1974 (CLADE I)
(FIGS 5–15; SUPPORTING INFORMATION, FIGS S6–S 7; TABLE 1)
Lobulia Greer, 1974. Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series (31): 1–67.
Type species: Lygosoma elegans Boulenger, 1897, by original designation.
Diagnosis: Medium-sized (adult SVL 41.9–63.9 mm) terrestrial or semi-arboreal skinks with long limbs (forelimbs 32.9–47.6% of SVL, hindlimbs 41.6– 54.8% of SVL); lobules present on anterior edge of ear opening; two pairs of chin shields in medial contact; two supralabials posterior to subocular supralabial; chin shields abutting infralabials; lower eyelid with semi-transparent window; standard three-scale temporal region; nasal scale undivided; frontoparietals either fused or unfused; viviparous; litter size 1–4.
Lobulia differs from all other genera by its much longer limbs (forelimbs 32.9–47.6% vs. 27.7–39.8% of SVL, hindlimbs 41.6–54.8% vs. 29.9–49.6% of SVL). It further differs from Prasinohaema by lacking green blood serum and tissues (Greer, 1974), a prehensile tail with a glandular tip and basally expanded subdigital lamellae. It differs from Papuascincus by having two pairs of chin shields in medial contact (vs. one), an undivided (vs. divided) nasal scale and a viviparous (vs. oviparous) reproductive mode.
Species included: Lobulia brongersmai Zweifel, 1972; Lobulia elegans (Boulenger, 1897); Lobulia lobulus (Loveridge, 1945); and new species described below.
Distribution: Members of Lobulia are widespread along most of the montane regions of New Guinea, ranging from the central Owen Stanley Mountains in the Papuan Peninsula in the east (Lo. elegans) to the Arfak Mountains in the Vogelkop Peninsula in the west. Most species are montane, found at elevations up to 2700 m a.s.l.; however, Lo. brongersmai is found in the lowlands and hill regions of the northern versant of New Guinea (0–1340 m a.s.l.). Lobulia brongersmai is the only member of the genus to be found below elevations of 700 m, the lowest recorded locality for Lo. elegans (Kraus, 2020).
Remarks: Molecular evidence suggests that at least two other species not already named or described herein occur in the genus: one in Woitape (BPBM 18689–90; WGS 84: 8.545°S, 147.251°E) and one on Mt Yakapi in the Muller Range (BPBM 34161; WGS 84: 5.666°S, 142.643°E). However, since both are only known from a few specimens each, and are not extremely morphologically distinct, we refrain from formally describing them until further material can be collected and examined.
description: Published as part of Slavenko, Alex, Tamar, Karin, Tallowin, Oliver J S, Kraus, Fred, Allison, Allen, Carranza, Salvador & Meiri, Shai, 2022, Revision of the montane New Guinean skink genus Lobulia (Squamata: Scincidae), with the description of four new genera and nine new species, pp. 220-278 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195 (1) on pages 233-234, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab052, http://zenodo.org/record/6530695