H'.JVlELDIANA . ZOOLOGY '' Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Volume 39 December 18, 1958 No. 24 THREE NEW SKINKS RELATED TO Sphenomorphus variegatus (PETERS) Robert F. Inger Curator, Division of Reptiles and Amphibians Availability of a syntype of Lygosoma {Hinulia) variegatum Peters and seventeen other specimens from Mindanao, the type locality, permits clarification of the relation of these Philippine lizards to populations from Borneo and New Guinea that have been identified as variegatus. Boulenger (1887) included Borneo, Timor, the Moluc-cas, and New Guinea in the range of variegatus and later (1897) added Celebes. De Rooij (1915) followed Boulenger and listed many localities outside the Philippines. One of the diagnostic features of variegatus is a large black spot on the side of the neck about five scale rows deep and extending from behind the upper comer of the tympanum to above the insertion of the arm (fig. 41). This spot occurs in all of the Philippine specimens at hand (20), varying only slightly in length. A black streak, not quite as deep, extends forward from the upper comer of the tympa-num to the eye. The lips are barred with black, the white interspaces being wider than the bars. Otherwise the head is a uniform dark brown laterally and dorsally. The body ground color above is dark brown, with small black squarish spots arranged in a paravertebral row and, in some individuals, in a dorsolateral row. Small light spots are usually present in these same rows and are especially conspicuous at the upper border of the large spot on the neck. Ventrally these Philippine skinks are immaculate cream-colored. As comparison with the descriptions of coloration in the Bornean (pp. 259 and 262) and Papuan samples (p. 264) will show, the pat-tern of variegatus is quite distinct. Papuan lizards have a narrower black stripe on the neck, which is continued forward to the nostril and commonly backward to the groin, but they have no bars on the lips. The Bornean skinks lack the large black cervical spot; those from northeastern Borneo have heavier labial bars, whereas those from northwestern and western Bomeo usually lack labial bars. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 58-59722 No. 862 257 ^rki~rt THE LIBRARY OF THE JAN 2 1S59 Hisry''s2R«» UNlVERSin OF ILLINOIS
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