Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5647 No. 2: 13 Jun. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-06-13
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5647.2.2
Page range: 117-130
Abstract views: 237
PDF downloaded: 7

A new species of Riopa Gray, 1839 (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from the Eastern Ghats, India

Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad; Telangana; P. G. Department of Zoology; Fakir Mohan University; Vyasa Vihar; Nuapadhi; Balasore- 756089; Odisha
Zoological Survey of India; FPS Building; Indian Museum campus; Kolkata- 700016; West Bengal; India
Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad
Freshwater Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Hyderabad
Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU; United Kingdom; Senckenberg Dresden; KönigsbrückerLandstraße 159; 01109 Dresden; Germany; Department of Life Sciences; The Natural History Museum; London SW7 5BD; UK
Department of Life Sciences; The Natural History Museum; London SW7 5BD; UK
Reptilia Andhra Pradesh Deccan Peninsula Eastern Ghats Endemic skink Taxonomy Telangana

Abstract

We describe a new species of Riopa from the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states, India. The new species is diagnosed by the following suite of characters: lower eyelid with a semi-transparent disk, 108–109 paravertebral scale rows, 8 or 9 lamellae on the 4th toe, dorsum with 16 distinct longitudinal lines, five fingers and five toes, preanal scales not enlarged, and ear opening covered by scales. Our mitochondrial molecular data supports the placement of the species in the genus Riopa and the new species is 4.1–9.2 % divergent from genetically sampled congeners. This study adds in understanding the cryptic diversity of lizard fauna in the Eastern Ghats in peninsular India. Based on our findings we provide a dichotomous key to the genus Riopa.

 

References

  1. Agarwal, I. (2016) Two new species of ground-dwelling Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) from the Mysore Plateau, south India. Zootaxa, 4193 (2), 228–244. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4193.2.2
  2. Agarwal, I. & Ramakrishnan, U. (2017) A phylogeny of open‐habitat lizards (Squamata: Lacertidae: Ophisops) supports the antiquity of Indian grassy biomes. Journal of Biogeography, 44 (9), 2021–2032. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12999
  3. Agarwal, I., Khandekar, A., Giri, V.B., Ramakrishnan, U. & Karanth, K.P. (2019) The hills are alive with geckos! A radiation of a dozen species on sky islands across peninsular India (Squamata: Gekkonidae, Hemiphyllodactylus) with the description of three new species. Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 19, 341–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-019-00392-5
  4. Agarwal, I., Bauer, A.M. & Khandekar, A. (2020a) A new species of South Asian Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Eastern Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 4802 (3), 449–462. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4802.3.3
  5. Agarwal, I., Thackeray, T., Pal, S. & Khandekar, A. (2020b) Granite boulders act as deep-time climate refugia: A Miocene divergent clade of rupicolous Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Mysore Plateau, India, with descriptions of three new species. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58 (4), 1234–1261. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12391
  6. Agarwal, I., Thackeray, T. & Khandekar, A. (2020c) Geckos in the granite: two new geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from rocky, scrub habitats in Rishi Valley, Andhra Pradesh, India. Zootaxa, 4838 (4), 451–474. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4838.4.1
  7. Agarwal, I., Thackeray, T. & Khandekar, A. (2023) Two new spotted species of the Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) collegalensis (Beddome, 1870) complex from the south-eastern coast of India (Reptilia: Squamata). Vertebrate Zoology, 73, 475–498. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e102602
  8. Agarwal, I., Thackeray, T. & Khandekar, A. (2024) A non-adaptive radiation of viviparous skinks from the seasonal tropics of India: Systematics of Subdoluseps (Squamata: Scincidae), with description of a new genus and five cryptic new species. Vertebrate Zoology, 74, 23–83. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e110674
  9. Bag, P., Raha, S. & Deuti, K. (2020) First record of Allapalli forest skink, Eutropis allapallensis (Schmidt, 1926) from West Bengal State, India. Records of Zoological Survey of India, 120 (1), 97–98. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v120/i1/2020/128510
  10. Bhilala, A.K., Ashaharraza, K., Ingle, M., Das, A.K., Sambath, S. & Mohapatra, P.P. (2021) Records of Günther’s gracile skink, Riopa guentheri (Peters, 1879) (Reptilia: Scincidae: Lygosominae) from Central India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 121 (1), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v121/i1/2021/148103
  11. Boulenger, G.A. (1887) Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. Printed by order of the Trustees, London, 575 pp.
  12. Brandley, M.C., Huelsenbeck, J.P. & Wiens, J.J. (2008) Rates and patterns in the evolution of snake-like body form in squamate reptiles: Evidence for repeated re-evolution of lost digits and long-term persistence of intermediate body forms. Evolution, 62 (8), 2042–2064. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00430.x
  13. Deepak, V & Karanth, P. (2018) Aridification driven diversification of fan-throated lizards from the Indian subcontinent. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 120, 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.11.016
  14. Deepak, V., Khandekar, A., Chaitanya, R. & Karanth, P. (2018) Descriptions of two new endemic and cryptic species of Sitana Cuvier, 1829 from peninsular India. Zootaxa, 4434 (2), 327–365. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4434.2.5
  15. Deepak, V., Narayanan, S., Sarkar, V., Dutta, S.K. & Mohapatra, P.P. (2019) A new species of Ahaetulla Link, 1807 (Serpentes: Colubridae: Ahaetullinae) from India. Journal of Natural History, 53 (9–10), 497–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2019.1589591
  16. Deepak, V., Tillack, F., Kar, N.B., Sarkar, V. & Mohapatra, P.P. (2021) A new species of Sitana (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Deccan Peninsula Biogeographic Zone of India. Zootaxa, 4948 (2), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4948.2.6
  17. Deuti, K., Raha, S., Bag, P., Debnath, S., Srikanthan, A.N. & Chandra, K. (2020) Skinks of India. Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 398 pp.
  18. Felsenstein, J. (1985) Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap. Evolution, 39, 783–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2408678
  19. Freitas, E.S., Datta-Roy, A., Karanth, P., Grismer, L.L. & Siler, C.D. (2019) Multilocus phylogeny and a new classification for African, Asian and Indian supple and writhing skinks (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 186, 1067–1096. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz001
  20. Ganesh, S.R., Deuti, K., Punith, K.G., Achyuthan, N.S., Mallik, A.K., Adhikari, O. & Vogel, G. (2020) A new species of Lycodon (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Deccan Plateau of India, with notes on the range of Lycodon travancoricus (Beddome, 1870) and a revised key to peninsular Indian forms. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 14 (3), 74–83.
  21. Geissler, P., Hartmann, T. & Neang, T. (2012) A new species of the genus Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Scincidae) from northeastern Cambodia, with an updated identification key to the genus Lygosoma in mainland Southeast Asia. Zootaxa, 3190 (1), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3190.1.4
  22. Giri, V.B., Bauer, A.M., Mohapatra, P.P., Srinivasulu, C. & Agarwal, I. (2017) A new species of large-bodied, tuberculate Hemidactylus Oken (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Eastern Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 4347 (2), 331–345. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4347.2.8
  23. Kohlsdorf, T. & Wagner, G.P. (2006) Evidence for the reversibility of digit loss: a phylogenetic study of limb evolution in Bachia (Gymnophthalmidae: Squamata). Evolution, 60 (9), 1896–1912.
  24. Krishna, H., Ray, S., Arya. S., Jena, S.K., Varadaraju & Mohapatra, P.P. (2023) Lankascincus fallax (Peters, 1860) (Reptilia: Scincidae: Ristellinae: Lankascincus) in Kerala with the first report of the genus from India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 123 (4), 275–282. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v123/i4/2023/172634
  25. Kumar, G.C., Srinivasulu, A. & Srinivasulu, C. (2022) Redescription of Hemidactylus giganteus Stoliczka, 1871 with the description of three new allied species (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820) from peninsular India. Zootaxa, 5115 (3), 301–341. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5115.3.1
  26. Kumar, S., Stecher, G. & Tamura, K. (2016) MEGA7: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 7.0 for Bigger Datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33 (7), 1870–1874. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw054
  27. Lajmi, A., Giri, V.B., Singh, T. & Agarwal, I. (2020) Two new species of yellow-tailed Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from rocky outcrops on the Telangana Plateau, India. Zootaxa, 4895 (4), 483–504. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4895.4.2
  28. Lanfear, R., Frandsen, P.B., Wright, A.M., Senfeld, T. & Calcott, B. (2017) Partition Finder 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
  29. Leary, S., Underwood, W., Anthony, R. & Cartner, S. (2013) AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. 2013 Edition. American Veterinary Medical Association, Schaumburg, 102 pp.
  30. Mirza, Z.A. & Gnaneswar, C. (2022) Description of a new species of leopard geckos, Eublepharis Gray, (1827) from Eastern Ghats, India with notes on Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827. Evolutionary Systematics, 6, 77–88. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.6.83290
  31. Macey, J.R., Larson, A., Ananjeva, N.B., Fang, Z. & Papenfuss, T.J. (1997) Two novel gene orders and the role of light-strand replication in rearrangement of the vertebrate mitochondrial genome. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 14, 91–104. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a025706
  32. Miller, A.H. & Zug, G.R. (2016) An enigmatic Lygosoma (Reptilia: Scincidae) from northern Myanmar. Herpetological Review, 47 (3), 373–374.
  33. Mohapatra, P.P., Khandekar, A., Dutta, S.K., Mahapatra, C. & Agarwal, I. (2020) A novel, diminutive Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from a sacred grove in Odisha, eastern India. Zootaxa, 4852 (4), 485–499. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4852.4.6
  34. Mohapatra, P.P., Ray, S. & Bhilala, A. (2024) Geographic distribution: Riopa vosmaerii. Herpetological Review, 55 (3), 372.
  35. Nguyen, L., Schmidt, H.A., von Haeseler, A. & Minh, B.Q. (2015) IQ-TREE: A Fast and Effective Stochastic Algorithm for Estimating Maximum-Likelihood Phylogenies. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 32 (1), 268–274. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msu300
  36. Palumbi, S., Martin, A., Romano, S., McMillan, W.O., Stice, L. & Grabowski, G. (2002) The simple fool’s guide to PCR. Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, 45 pp.
  37. Rambaut, A., Drummond, A.J., Xie, D., Baele, G. & Suchard, M.A. (2018) Posterior Summarization in Bayesian Phylogenetics Using Tracer 1.7. Systematic Biology, 67 (5), 901–904. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syy032
  38. Rao, K.T., Ghate, H.V., Sudhakar, M., Javed, S.M.M. & Krishna, I.S.R. (2005) Herpetofauna of Nallamalai hills with eleven new records from the region including ten new records for Andhra Pradesh. Zoos’ Print Journal, 20 (1), 1737–1740. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.1232.1737-40
  39. Rieppel, O. (1984) The cranial morphology of the fossorial lizard genus Dibamus with a consideration of its phylogenetic relationships. Journal of Zoology, 204 (3), 289–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1984.tb02376.x
  40. Rodgers, W.A. & Panwar, H.S. (1988) Planning a wildlife protected area network in India. 2 Vols. Project FO: IND/82/003. FAO, Dehradun, 339 pp.
  41. Ronquist, F., Teslenko, M., van der Mark, P., Ayres, D.L., Darling, A., Höhna, S., Larget, B., Liu, L., Suchard, M.A. & 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
  42. Seetharamaraju, M., Sreekar, R., Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, B., Kaur, H. & Venkateshwarlu, P. (2009) Rediscovery of Vosmer’s Writhing Skink Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839) (Reptilia: Scincidae) with a note on its taxonomy. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 1 (12), 624–626. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2160.624-6
  43. Skinner, A., Lee, M.S. & Hutchinson, M.N. (2008) Rapid and repeated limb loss in a clade of scincid lizards. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 8 (1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-8-310
  44. Smith, M.A. (1935) The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II. Sauria. Taylor And Francis, London, xiii + 440 pp., 1 pl. [reprinted 1970 Ralph Curtis Books, Hollywood, Florida and 1980 Today and Tomorrow’s Publishers, Dehradun]
  45. Smith-Paredes, D., Griffith, O., Fabbri, M., Yohe, L., Blackburn, D.G., Siler, C.D., Bhullar, B.S. & Wagner, G.P. (2021) Hidden limbs in the “limbless skink” Brachymeles lukbani: developmental observations. Journal of Anatomy, 238 (3), 693–703. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13447
  46. Srinivasulu, C. & Das, I. (2008) The herpetofauna of Nallamala Hills, Eastern Ghats, India: an annotated checklist, with remarks on nomenclature, taxonomy, habitat use, adaptive types and biogeography. Asiatic Herpetological Research, 11, 110–131.
  47. Srinivasulu, C. & Kumar, G.C. (2022) A Checklist of Herpetofauna of Telangana State, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 14 (6), 21266–21281. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7360.14.6.21266-21281
  48. Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, A. & Kumar, G.C. (2018) A New Cryptic Rock-dwelling Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northern Karnataka, India. Zootaxa, 4444 (1), 25–42. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4444.1.2
  49. Taylor, E.H. (1935) A taxonomic study of the cosmopolitan lizards of the genus Eumeces with an account of the distribution and relationships of its species. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 23, 1–643. https://doi.org/10.2307/1436337
  50. Thompson, J.D., Higgins, D.G. & Gibson, T.J. (1994) CLUSTAL W: improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, positions-specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. Nucleic Acids Research, 22, 4673–4680. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/22.22.4673
  51. Uetz, P., Freed, P., Aguilar, R., Reyes, F. & Hošek, J. (Eds.) (2025) Reptile database. Available from: https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/ (accessed 9 April 2025)
  52. Vyas, R. (2001) Notes on the distribution of Lygosoma lineata (Gray, 1839) and comments on the systematic status of Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839). Hamadryad, 26 (2), 360–361.
  53. Vyas, R. (2010) Further comments on the systematic status of Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839). Journal of threatened Taxa, 2 (1), 674. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2377.674
  54. Wiens, J.J. (2009) Estimating rates and patterns of morphological evolution from phylogenies: lessons in limb lability from Australian Lerista lizards. Journal of Biology, 8, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1186/jbiol112
  55. Zhang, D., Gao, F., Jakovli, I., Zou, H. & Wang, G.T. (2020) PhyloSuite: an integrated and scalable desktop platform for streamlined molecular sequence data management and evolutionary phylogenetics studies. Molecular Ecology Resources, 20, 348–355. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13096

How to Cite

Bhupathi, B., Ray, S., Karuthapandi, M., Jaiswal, D., Deepak, V. & Mohapatra, P.P. (2025) A new species of Riopa Gray, 1839 (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from the Eastern Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 5647 (2), 117–130. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5647.2.2