Guizhou researchers describe new lizard species Scincella qianbeiensis in two nature reserves
The Guizhou forestry bureau reported a new species of the genus Scincella from the Kuankuoshui and Dashahe reserves; the work appeared in Zoosystematics and Evolution.
On 10 November the Forestry Bureau of Guizhou Province in south-west China announced the discovery of a new reptile species, Scincella qianbeiensis, in the Kuankuoshui and Dashahe national nature reserves in the north of the province, Xinhua - french.news.cn reported french.news.cn
Xinhua - french.news.cnfrench.news.cnOpen source ↗. The results were published in Zoosystematics and Evolution, an international journal on animal taxonomy.
Discovery in the field
Staff of the Kuankuoshui reserve administration found specimens of the genus Scincella (family Scincidae) during routine field monitoring in the area of the central management station. A team of experts confirmed that the animals belong to a new species of the genus, named Scincella qianbeiensis. During identification, the Dashahe reserve administration also found specimens and provided them.
About the genus Scincella
The genus Scincella includes small, inconspicuous terrestrial lizards. They usually live under forest cover, in bushes, in piles of stones or in fallen leaf litter. Their skin is relatively smooth and their limbs are relatively poorly developed. The genus is one of the representative reptile groups of the mountain forests of southern China.
According to the researchers, the find indicates that mountain forest ecosystems from northern Guizhou to the Dalou Mountains may still harbor more unrecorded reptile species french.news.cn
Xinhua - french.news.cnfrench.news.cnOpen source ↗.
