Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5601 No. 1: 6 Mar. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-03-06
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5601.1.5
Page range: 109-126
Abstract views: 157
PDF downloaded: 5

Taxonomic status and sexual dimorphism of the brown forest skink, Scincella cherriei stuarti (Smith 1941) (Squamata: Scincidae)

Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular; Carrera de Biología; Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Investigación Experimental Zaragoza; Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Batalla 5 de mayo s/n; Col. Ejército de Oriente. 09230; Ciudad de México; México; Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Circuito de Posgrados; Ciudad Universitaria; Ciudad de México 04510; CDMX; México
Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular; Carrera de Biología; Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Investigación Experimental Zaragoza; Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Batalla 5 de mayo s/n; Col. Ejército de Oriente. 09230; Ciudad de México; México
Reptilia Phylogenetics taxonomy skink sexual dimorphism morphology

Abstract

We analyzed the molecular and morphological variation of the scincid lizard Scincella cherriei stuarti in order to reassess its taxonomic status. Our phylogenetic analyses recovered Scincella cherriei stuarti as a strongly supported monophyletic group. Furthermore, in our morphological analysis we found sexual dimorphism in color pattern and limb size in the S. cherrei stuarti, a combination that was previously undocumented for the entire genus. Owing to a suite of diagnosable external characters and strongly supported monophyly, we suggest elevating S. cherriei stuarti to species level. We offer a redescription of the taxon to accommodate its noted sexual dimorphism, and we also update its geographic distribution.

 

References

  1. Álvarez del Toro, M. (1982) Los reptiles de Chiapas. 3ª Edition. Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, 248 pp.
  2. Aguilar-López, J.L. & Canseco-Márquez, L. (2006) Herpetofauna del municipio de las Choapas, Veracruz, México. Boletín de la Sociedad Herpetológica Mexicana, 14 (2), 20–37.
  3. Aguilar-López, J.L., Pineda, E. & Luría-Manzano, R. (2014) Depredación de tres especies de herpetozoos por arañas en la región tropical de Veracruz, México. Revista mexicana de biodiversidad, 85 (3), 966–968. https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.43649
  4. Aguilar-López, J.L., Luría-Manzano, R., Pineda, E. & Canseco-Márquez, L. (2021) Selva Zoque, México: an important Mesoamerican tropical región for reptil especies diversity and conservation. ZooKeyz, 1054, 127–153. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1054.67916
  5. Becker, B.M. & Paulissen, M.A. (2012) Sexual dimorphism in head in the little brown skink (Scincella lateralis). Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 7 (2), 109–114.
  6. Blackburn, D. & Vitt, L. (1992) Reproduction in viviparous South American lizards of the genus Mabuya. In: Reproductive Biology of South American Vertebrates. Springer, New York, New York, pp. 150–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2866-0_11
  7. Cox, R.M., Butler, M.A. & Jhon-Alder, H.B. (2007) The evolution of sexual size dimorphism in reptiles. In: Fairbain, D.J., Blankenhorn, W.U. & Székely, T. (Eds.), Sex, Size and gender roles. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 38–49. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208784.003.0005
  8. Cracraft, J. (1983) Species concepts and speciation analysis. In: Johnston, R.F. (Eds.), Current Ornithology. Plenum Press, New York, New York, pp. 159–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6781-3_6
  9. Dayrat, B. (2005) Towards integrative taxonomy. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 85, 407–415. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2005.00503.x
  10. DeSalle, R., Egan, M.G. & Sidall, M. (2005) The unholy trinity: taxonomy, species delimitation and DNA barcoding. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 360, 1905–1916. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2005.1722
  11. Díaz-Gamboa, L., Herrera D., Gallardo, A., Cedeño-Vázquez, J., González-Sánchez, V., Chiappa-Carrara, X. & Arenas, C. (2020) Catálogo de reptiles de la península de Yucatán. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City, 315 pp.
  12. Edgar, R.C. (2004) MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput. Nucleic Acids Research, 32, 1792–1797. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkh340
  13. Fetzner Jr., J.W. (1999) Extracting high-quality DNA from shed reptile skins: a simplified method. Biotechniques, 26 (6), 1052–1054. https://doi.org/10.2144/99266bm09
  14. García-Sotelo, U., García-Vázquez, U.O. & Espinosa, D. (2021) Historical biogeography of the genus Rhadinaea (Squamata:Dipsadinae). Ecology and Evolution, 11, 12413–12428. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7988
  15. García-Vázquez, U.O. & Feria-Ortiz, M. (2006) Escíncidos de México. Reptilia, Spain, 62, 78–83.
  16. García-Vázquez, U.O., Canseco-Márquez, L. & Nieto-Montes de Oca, A. (2010) A New Species of Scincella (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, Coahuila, Mexico. Copeia, 3, 373–381. https://doi.org/10.1643/CH-09-045
  17. García-Vázquez, U.O. (2012) Revisión Taxonómica del grupo Oligosoma del Género Scincella (Squamata: Scincidae). Tesis de maestría, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, 117 pp.
  18. García-Vázquez, U.O, Clause, A.G., Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, J., Cazarez-Hernández, E. & De la Torre-Loranca, M.A. (2022) A new species of Abronia (Squamata:Anguidae) from the Sierra de Zongolica of Veracruz, Mexico. Icthyology & Herpetology, 110 (1), 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1643/h2021051
  19. González-Sánchez, V.H., Johnson, J.D., García-Padilla, E., Mata-Silva, V., DeSantis, L.D. & Wilson, L.D. (2017) The Herpetofauna of the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula: composition distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican herpetology, 4 (2), 264–380.
  20. Henríquez, V., Valdenegro-Brito, A.E., Herrera, N. & García-Vázquez, U.O. (2021) Scincella incerta (Stuart 1940) (Squamata: Scincidae), un nuevo registro de herpetofauna para El Salvador. Revista Latinoamericana de Herpetología, 4 (1), 228–230. https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2021.1.203
  21. Hillis, D.M. & Bull, J.J. (1993) An empirical test of bootstrapping as a method for assessing confidence in phylogenetic analysis. Systematic Biology, 42, 182–192. https://doi.org/10.2307/2992540
  22. Honda, M., Hidedoshi, O., Köhler, G., Ineich, I., Chirio, L., Szu-Lung, C. & Tsutomu, H. (2003) Phylogeny of the Lizard Subfamily Lygosominae (Reptilia: Scincidae), with Special Reference to the Origin of the New World Taxa. Genes & Genetic Systems, 78 (1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1266/ggs.78.71
  23. Köhler, G., Veselý, M. & Greenbaum, E. (2006) The Amphibians and Reptiles of El Salvador. Kreiger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 238 pp.
  24. Kumar, S., Stecher, G., Li, M., Knyaz, C. & Tamura, K. (2018) MEGA X: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis across Computing Platforms. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35 (6), 1547–1549. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy096
  25. Lanfear, R., Frandsen, P.B., Wright, A.M., Senfeld, T. & Calcott, B. (2016) PartitionFinder 2: new methods for selecting partitioned models of evolution for molecular and morphological phylogenetic analyses. Molecular biology and evolution, 34 (3), 772–773. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw260
  26. Leaché, A.D. & Reeder, T.W. (2002) Molecular Systematics of the Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus): A Comparison of Parsimony, Likelihood, and Bayesian Approaches. Systematic Biology, 51 (1), 44–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/106351502753475871
  27. Lee, J.C. (2000) A field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Maya World, The lowlands of Mexico, Northern Guatemala, and Belize. Comstock Publishing Associates and Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 402 pp.
  28. Linkem, C.W., Diesmos, A.C. & Brown, R.M. (2011) Molecular systematics of the Philippine forest skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Sphenomorphus): testing morphological hypotheses of interspecific relationships. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 163, 1217–1243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00747.x
  29. Lis, J.T. (1980) Franctionation of DNA fragments by polyethylene glycol induced precipitation. Methods in Enzymology, 65, 347–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0076-6879(80)65044-7
  30. Mayr, E. (1942) Systematics and the origin of species. Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 334 pp., 29 figs.
  31. Mc Cranie, J.R. (2018) The lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution and Conservation. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 15, 1–1290. https://doi.org/10.3099/0027-4100-15.1.1
  32. McCranie, J.R., Matthews, A.J. & Hedges, B. (2020) A morphological and molecular revision of lizards of the genus Marisora Hedges & Conn (Squamata: Mabuyidae) from Central America and Mexico, with descriptions of four new species. Zootaxa, 4763 (3), 301–353. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4763.3.1
  33. Mulcahy, D.G., Morrill, B.H. & Mendelson, J.R. III (2006) Historical biogeography of lowland species of toads (Bufo) across the Trans- Mexican Neovolcanic Belt and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Journal of Biogeography, 33 (11), 1889–1904. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01546.x
  34. Myers, C.W. & Donnelly, M.A. (1991) The Lizard Genus Sphenomorphus (Scincidae) in Panama, with Description of a New Species. American Museum Novitates, 3027, 1–12.
  35. Mittleman, M.B. (1950) The generic status of Scincus lateralis Say, 1823. Herpetologica, 6 (2), 17–20.
  36. Nelson, C.E. & Nickerson, M.A. (1966) Notes on Some Mexican and Central American Amphibians and Reptiles, Southwestern Naturalist, 11 (1), 128–131. https://doi.org/10.2307/3669190
  37. Nguyen, S.N., Nguyen, V.D.H., Nguyen, L.T.H. & Murphy, R.W. (2019) A new skink of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh Province, southern Vietnam. Zootaxa, 4648 (2), 273–286. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4648.2.4
  38. Okabe, S., Motokawa, M., Koizumi, Y., Nguyen, T.Q., Nguyen, T.T. & Bui, H.I. (2024) A new species of the genus Scincella (Squamata:Scincidae) from Mount Fansipan, Hoang Lien Son Range, northwestern Vietnam. Zootaxa, 5537 (3), 407–423. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5537.3.7
  39. Oliver, J.A. (1937) Notes on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from the State of Colima, México. Ocasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan, 360, 1–28.
  40. Pavón-Vázquez, C.J., García-Vázquez, U.O., Bryson Jr., R.W., Feria-Ortiz. M., Manríquez-Morán, N.L. & Nieto-Montes de Oca, A. (2018) Integrative species delimitation in practice: Revealing cryptic lineages within the short-nosed skink Plestiodon brevirostris (Squamata: Scincidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 4365 (2), 149–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.020
  41. Rambaut, A. & Drummond, A.J. (2007) Tracer. Version 1.4. Program distributed by the author. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh and University of Auckland, Auckland. [program]
  42. Rambaut, A. & Drummond, A.J. (2012) TreeAnnotator. Version 2.1.2. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh. [program]
  43. Ramírez-Bautista, A., Guillette, L., Gutierrez-Mayen, G. & Uribe-Peña, Z. (1996) Reproductive Biology of the Lizard “Eumeces Copei” (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from the Eje Neovolcanico, Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist, 41 (2), 103–110.
  44. Ramírez-Bautista, A., Barba-Torres, J. & Vitt, L.J. (1998) Reproductive cycle and brood size of Eumeces lynxe from Pinal de Amoles, Queretaro, México. Journal of Herpetology, 32, 18–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/1565474
  45. Ramírez-Pinilla, M., Serrano, V. & Galeano, J. (2002) Annual Reproductive Activity of Mabuya mabouya (Squamata, Scincidae). Journal of Herpetology, 36 (4), 667–667. https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036[0667:ARAOMM]2.0.CO;2
  46. Reeder, T.W. (2003) A phylogeny of the Australian Sphenomorphus group (Scincidae: Squamata) and the phylogenetic placement of crocodile skinks (Tribolonotus): Bayesian approaches to assessing congruence and obtaining confidence in maximum likelihood inferred relationships. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 27, 384–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00448-7
  47. Rendón, A., Álvarez, T. & Flores-Villela, O. (1998) Herpetofauna de Santiago Jalahui, Oaxaca, México. Acta zoológica mexicana, 75, 17–45. https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.1998.75751706
  48. Rocha, C.F.D. & Vrcibradic, D. (1999) Reproductive Traits of Two Sympatric Viviparous Skinks (Mabuya macrohyncha and Mabuya agilis) in a Brazilian Restinga Habitat. Herpetological Journal, 9, 43–53.
  49. Ronquist, F., Teslenko, M., Van Der Mark, P., Ayres, D.L., Darling, A., Höhna, S. & Huelsenbeck, J.P. (2012) MrBayes 3.2: Efficient Bayesian Phylogenetic Inference and Model Choice Across a Large Model Space. Systematic Biology, 61 (3), 539–542. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys029
  50. Ruwan, J.I.A., Gao, Z., Huang, J., Ren, J., Jiang, K., Li, D. & Li, J. (2023) A New Species of the Genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Sichuan Province, Southwest China, with a Diagnostic Key of Scincella Species in China. Asian Herpetological Research, 14 (1), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.220054
  51. Schmitz, A., Brandley, M.C., Mausfeld, P., Vences, M., Glaw, F., Nussbaum, R.A. & Reeder, T.W. (2005) Opening the black box: Phylogenetics and morphological evolution of the Malagasy fossorial lizards of the subfamily ‘‘Scincinae.’’ Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 34, 118–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.016
  52. Gene Codes Corporation (2023) Sequencher Sequencher® version 4.1.4 DNA sequence analysis software. Gene Codes Corporation, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  53. Simón-Salvador, P.R., Arreortúa, M., Flores, C.A., Santiago-Dionicio, H. & González-Bernal, E. (2021) The role of indigenous and Community Conservation Areas in Herpetofauna conservation: a preliminary list of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca, Mexico. ZooKeyz, 1029, 185–208. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1029.62205
  54. Smith, H.M. (1939) Mexican Herpetological Novelties. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 52, 187–196.
  55. Smith, H.M. (1941) A new race of Lygosoma from Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 54, 181–182.
  56. Smith, H.M. (1946) Handbook of Lizards. Lizards of the United States and Canada. Comstock, Ithaca, New York, 590 pp.
  57. Smith, H.M. & Taylor, E.H. (1950) An annotated checklist and key to the reptiles of Mexico exclusive of the snakes. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 199, 1–253. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.03629236.199
  58. Smith, H.M., Auth, D.L. & Chiszar, D. (1997) Geographic distribution: Scincella lateralis. Herpetological Review, 28, 177.
  59. Stamatakis, A. (2014) RAxML version 8: a tool for phylogenetic analysis and post-analysis of large phylogenies. Bioinformatics, 30 (9), 1312–1313. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btu033
  60. Stuart, L.C. (1940) Notes on the Lampropholis group of Middle American Lygosoma (Scincidae) with descriptions of two new forms. Occacional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan, 421, 1–16.
  61. Taylor, E.H. (1935) A taxonomic study of the cosmopolitan scincoid lizards of the genus Eumeces with an account of the distribution and relationships of its species. The Kansas University Science Bulletin, 23, 1–643.
  62. Taylor, E.H. (1937) Two New Lizards of tlie Genus Leiolopisma from Mexico, with Comments on Another Mexican Species. Copeia, 1, 5–11. https://doi.org/10.2307/1437363
  63. Torres-Hernández, L.A., Ramírez-Bautista, A., Cruz-Elizalde, R., Hernández-Salinas, U., Berriozabal-Islas, C., DeSantis, D.L., Johnson, J.D., Rocha, A., García-Padilla, E., Mata-Silva, V., Fucsko, L.A. & Wilson, L.D. (2021) The Herpetofauna of Veracruz, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 15 (2), 72–155.
  64. Valdenegro-Brito, A.E., García-Morales, D., Sánchez-García, J.C. & García-Vázquez, U.O. (2016) Geographic Distribution: Scincella cherriei (Brown Forest Skink). Herpetological Review, 47 (3), 424–425.
  65. Valdenegro-Brito, A.E., Pavón-Vázquez, C.J., Luna-Reyes, R. & García-Vázquez, U.O. (2018) Distribución geográfica de Scincella incerta (Squamata: Scincidae) en el estado de Chiapas, México. Acta Zoológica Mexicana, Nueva Serie, 34, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2018.3412140
  66. Valdenegro-Brito, A.E., Herrera-Serrano, N. & García-Vázquez, U.O. (2020) First record of brown forest skink, Scincella cherriei (Cope, 1893) (Squamata: Scincidae) in El Salvador. Herpetology Notes, 13, 715–716.
  67. Valdenegro-Brito, A.E., Herrera-Serrano, N. & García-Vázquez, U.O. (2021) Geographical distribution and potential geographical range of the Red Skink Scincella assata (Cope, 1864) (Squamata, Scincidae) in El Salvador. Check list, 17, 283–288. https://doi.org/10.15560/17.1.283
  68. Vitt, L.J. & Cooper, W.E. (1985) The evolution of sexual dimorphism in the skink Eumeces laticeps: an example of sexual selection. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 63, 995–1002. https://doi.org/10.1139/z85-148
  69. Vrcibradic, D. & Rocha, C.F.D. (1998) Reproductive Cycle and Life history Traits of the Viviparous Skink Mabuya frenata in southeastern Brazil. Copeia, 1998 (3), 612–619. https://doi.org/10.2307/1447791
  70. Wiley, E.O. (1978) The evolutionary species concept reconsidered. Systematic Biology, 27 (1), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/2412809