Abstract
Euprepes beddomei was described by Jerdon (1870) from “Mysore” (Karnataka State, India). Simultaneously, Euprepes (Tiliqua) septemlineatus, which is morphologically similar to E. beddomei, was described by Blanford (1870) based on a single specimen collected from the Ganga River Valley, Southeast Berar, Madhya Pradesh, India. Smith (1935) synonymised the latter species (published in September, 1870) with Euprepes beddomei which in turn was published earlier (March, 1870). Jerdon’s publication should therefore be given priority. A comprehensive comparison between the holotypes of the above two species confirms that E. septemlineatus is a junior synonym of E. beddomei. Based on morphological characters, Eutropis beddomei is here clearly identified and can be considered a widespread species in India and Sri Lanka. The original description of E. beddomei is very short and lacks a description containing most of the important diagnostic characters; hence, we hereby provide a comprehensive description of the species based on the examination of its holotype.
References
Adler, K. (editor) 2007 Contributions to the history of herpetology, Volume 2. Society for the study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR). Contributions to Herpetology, 21, 1–389.
Amarasinghe, A.A.T., Ineich, I., Karunarathna, D.M.S.S., Botejue, W.M.S. & Campbell, P.D. (2015) Two new species of the genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 (Reptilia: Agamidae) from Sri Lanka, including a taxonomic revision of the Indian Sitana species. Zootaxa, 3915 (1), 67–98.
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3915.1.3Anderson, J. (1871) A list of the reptilian accession to the Indian Museum, Calcutta, from 1865 to 1870, with a description of some new species. Journal of Asiatic Society Bengal, 40, 12–39.
Barley, A.J., Datta-Roy, A., Karanth, K.P. & Brown, R.M. (2015) Sun skink diversification across the Indian–Southeast Asian biogeographical interface. Journal of Biogeography, 42, 292–304.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12397Blanford, W.T. (1870) Notes on some Reptilia and Amphibia from Central India. Journal of Asiatic Society Bengal, 39, 335–376.
Blyth, E. (1853) Notices and descriptions of various reptiles, new or little-known. Journal of Asiatic Society Bengal, 22, 639–655.
Boulenger, G.A. (1885) Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum, second edition–Volume 1, London, 436 pp.
Boulenger, G.A. (1887) Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum – III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London, 575 pp.
Boulenger, G.A. (1890) The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, 541 pp.
Das, I. (1991) A new species of Mabuya from Tamil Nadu State, Southern India (Squamata: Scincidae). Journal of Herpetology, 25, 342–344.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1564594Das, I. (1996) Biogeography of the Reptiles of South Asia. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 87 pp.
Das, I. (2001) Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Herpetofauna of Southern Asia. Pp. 1–38. In: Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. & Samarasekara, V.N. (Ed), An overview of the Threatened Herpetofauna of South Asia. IUCN Sri Lanka Country office: 118 pp.
Das, I. (2002) Snakes and other reptiles of India. New Holland, UK, 144 pp.
Das, I., Dattagupta, B & Gayen, N.C. (1998) History and catalogue of reptile types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India. Journal of South Asian Natural History, 3, 1–52.
Das, I. & de Silva, A. (2005) A photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of Sri Lanka. New Holland Publication, London, 144 pp.
Das, I., de Silva, A. & Austin, C.C. (2008) A new species of Eutropis (Squamata: Scincidae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 1700, 35–52.
Datta-Roy, A., Singh, M., Srinivasulu, C. & Karanth, K.P. (2012) Phylogeny of the Asian Eutropis (Squamata: Scincidae) reveals an ‘into India’ endemic Indian radiation. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 63, 817–824.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.02.022Datta-Roy, A., Deepak, V., Sidharthan, C., Barley, A.J. & Karanth, K.P. (2015) An addition to the endemic Indian radiation of Eutropis: Phylogenetic position of Eutropis dissimilis Hallowell (Squamata: Scincidae). Zootaxa, 4027 (1), 145–150.
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4027.1.9Deraniyagala, P.E.P. (1953) A Colored Atlas of some vertebrates from Ceylon, Tetrapod Reptilia – Volume 2. National Museums of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 101 pp.
Elliot, W. (1876) Memoir of Dr T. C. Jerdon. In: History of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club, Henry Hunter Blair, Market Place 7, 143–151.
Fitzinger, L. (1843) Systema Reptilium, fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel, Wien: 106 pp.
Gray, J.E. (1839) Catalogue of the slender-tongued saurians, with descriptions of many new genera and species, Part II. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1, 1, 287–293.
Gray, J.E. (1846) Descriptions of some new species of Indian Lizards. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1, 18, 429–430.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/037454809494450Hallowell, E. (1857) Notice of some new and rare species of Scincidae in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 11, 71–82.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3231927Hardwicke, T. & Gray, J.E. (1827) A synopsis of the species of saurian reptiles, collected in India by Major-General Hardwicke. Zoological Journal, London, 3, 213–229.
Hettige, U.S.B., Wickramasinghe, L.J.M., Priyadarshana, T.G.M., Gunawardena, K., Perera, L.I. & Manorathna, A. (2000) Fauna of Gal Oya National Park. Sri Lanka Naturalist, 3, 55–61.
Inger, R.F., Shaffer, H.B., Koshy, M. & Bakde, R. (1984) A report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from the Ponmudi, Kerala, South India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 81, 551–570.
IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. (2013) Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 10.1. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee, London, 85 pp.
Jerdon, T.C. (1870) Notes on Indian Herpetology. Proceedings of Asiatic Society of Bengal, March 1870, 66–85.
Karin, B.R., Metallinou, M., Weinell, J.L., Jackman, T.R. & Bauer, A.M. (2016) Resolving the higher-order phylogenetic relationships of the circumtropical Mabuya group (Squamata: Scincidae): An out-of-Asia diversification. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 102, 220-232.
Karunarathna, D.M.S.S. & Amarasinghe, A.A.T. (2011) A preliminary survey of the Reptile fauna in Nilgala Forest and its vicinity, Monaragala District, Sri Lanka. Taprobanica, 3, 69–76.
Kuhl, H. (1820) Beiträge zur Zoologie und vergleichenden Anatomie. Hermannsche Buchhandlung, Frankfurt, 152 pp.
Mausfeld, P. & Schmitz, A. (2003) Molecular phylogeography, intraspecific variation and speciation of the Asian scincid lizard genus Eutropis Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Reptilia: Scincidae): taxonomic and biogeographic implications. Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 3, 161–171.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1078/1439-6092-00068Mausfeld, P., Vences, M., Schmitz, A. & Veith, M. (2000) First data on the molecular phylogeography of scincid lizards of the genus Mabuya. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 17, 11–14.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/mpev.2000.0809Méhely, L. (1897) Zur Herpetologie von Ceylon. Termes Fuzetek, Budapest, 20, 55–70.
Peabotuwage, I., Bandara, I.N., Samarasinghe, D., Perera, N., Madawala, M., Amarasinghe, C., Kandambi, H.K.D. & Karunarathna, D.M.S.S. (2012) Range extension for Duttaphrynus kotagamai (Amphibia: Bufonidae) and a preliminary checklist of herpetofauna from the Uda Mäliboda Trail in Samanala Nature Reserve, Sri Lanka. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, 5, 52–64.
Sabaj Pérez, M.H. (2015) Standard Symbolic Codes for Institutional Resource Collections in Herpetology and Ichthyology: An Online Reference, Version 5.0 (22 September 2014). American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, USA.
Schneider, J.G. (1801) Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae. Fasciculus secundus continens Crocodilos, Scincos, Chamaesauras, Boas. Pseudoboas, Elapes, Angues. Amphisbaenas et Caecilias. Frommanni, Jena, 374 pp.
Sharma, R.C. (1969) Two new lizards of the genera Mabuya Fitzinger and Riopa Gray (Scincidae) from India. Bulletin of Systematic Zoology, Calcutta, 1, 71–75.
Smith, M.A. (1935) The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptiles and Amphibia, Vol. II. Sauria. Taylor and Francis, London, 440 pp.
Somaweera, R. & Somaweera, N. (2009) Lizards of Sri Lanka: a colour guide with field keys. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 304 pp.
Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, B. & Molur, S. (2014) The Status and Distribution of Reptiles in the Western Ghats, India. Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP). Wildlife Information Laision Development Society, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Taylor, E.H. (1950) Ceylones lizards of the family Scincidae. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 33, 2, 481–518.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.16133Taylor, E.H. (1953) A review of the lizards of Ceylon. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 35, 12, 1525–1585.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.26732Uetz, P. & Hallermann J. (2014) The reptile database. Available from: http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/. (accessed 21 July 2015)
Venugopal, P.D. (2010) An updated and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 2, 3, 725–738.
http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2083.725-38