Work

A Taxonomic Revision of the Barbour’s Blue-tailed Skink Plestiodon barbouri (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae), With Descriptions of Three New Species

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We herein provide a taxonomic revision of the species complex of Plestiodon barbouri (Van Denburgh, 1912) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan.Molecular and morphological analyses showed that P. barbouri sensu lato comprised at least four distinct lineages, each warranting recognition as a separate species.Thus, we propose a new taxonomic arrangement, where we restrict P. barbouri sensu Van Denburgh to island populations of the Amami Group.In addition, we describe three new species for island populations of the Okinawa Group.The new species are distinguished from each other and all congeners by combining scalation and color patterns.

Source: Species Diversity

DOI: 10.12782/specdiv.30.259

Authors: Kazuki Kurita, Tsutomu Hikida

Institutions: Chiba Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Kyoto University

Language: English

Topic: Amphibian and Reptile Biology

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Nakatsuji Foresight Foundation, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, University of the Ryukyus

OpenAlex ID: W7106517695

FWCI: 0.436

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Cited by: 1

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