Further comments on the systematic status of Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839)
Raju Vyas
505, Krishnadeep Tower, Mission Road, Fatehgunj,Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Email: razoovyas@hotmail.com
Date
of publication (online): 26 January 2010
Date of
publication (print): 26 January 2010
ISSN 0974-7907
(online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o2377
Received 30
December 2009
Citation: Vyas, R. (2010). Further comments on the
systematic status of Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839). Journal of ThreatenedTaxa 2(1): 674.
Copyright: © Raju Vyas 2010. Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
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the source of publication.
The Vosmer’s Writhing Skink Lygosoma vosmaerii was described as Hagria vosmaerii by Gray (1839), as is presently
accepted, with Java as type locality based on the specimen sent to him
by M. Bibron (Gray 1874). Dumeril & Bibron (1839) provided a full description of the same
specimen collected by M. Lamarre-Piquot from Bengal
Province (with out any specific locality) as Campsodactylus lamarrei. Later, Boulenger(1887) allocated it to the genus Lygosoma and
assigned ‘Deccan’ as its type locality and finally Boulenger(1890) considered it as synonymy.
After the
description, there was no new information on the species, but subsequent
herpetologists accepted it as distinct taxa (Smith
1935; Sarma 2002), except Vyas(2001) who questioned its taxonomic status on the basis of an anomalous
specimen of L. lineata. Also, Das (2003) did not mention it in the
list of reptiles of India. But recent published note on ‘Rediscovery of Vosmer’s Writhing Skink Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839) (Reptilia:Scincidae) with a note on its taxonomy’ by Seetharamaraju et al. (2009) stated that the species’
taxonomic status is valid. Here I take the
opportunity to comment on the systematic status of the L. vosmerii (Gray 1839) and address it as a debatable
subject.
Seetharamaraju et al. (2009)
were able to collect a second specimen (NHM.OU.REP.1-2009) of the species,
after 170 years of description, and there was no doubt in its identification.
But Boulenger (1890) mentioned it as an anomalous
specimen and Vyas (2001 & 2009), treated the L.vosmaerii as an anomalous specimen of L. lineata on the basis of a specimen from Gujarat, which
has five fingers in right forelimb. Also, it is a fact, that this was an
anomalous specimen of L. lineata, as it was
found along with other few live specimens of L. lineata.
On that ground, Vyas (2001) considered and treated
anomalous specimen as a species belonging to L. lineata,instead of an anomalous specimen of L. vosmaerii(Gray, 1839).
Therefore, Vyas’ (2001) proposal is not rejectableat this juncture, however, the present rediscovery of L.vosmerii (Seetharamarajuet al. 2009) considerably supports the validity of the taxon(albeit on the basis of a single specimen). But still the taxonomic status of L.vosmerii is questionable on the basis of the
voucher (BNHM 1453) from Velavadar National Park, Bhavanagar District, Gujarat (Vyas2001) and this clearly suggests further debate on the taxonomic status of L.vosmaerii (Gray, 1839).
Therefore I personally propose
and believe that the present taxonomic status of L. vosmeriiis still uncertain/ pending and needs further investigation of the area of Jaggayapet, Krishna District, AndhraPradesh for establishing the systematic status of the species by collection and
examination of a series of specimens; for it can be revealed by genetic studies
only.
References
Boulenger, G.A. (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.)III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae,Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae.
Taylor and Francis, London, 575pp.
Boulenger, G.A. (1890). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptiliaand Batrachia. Taylor and Francis, London.xviii + 541pp.
Das, I. (2003). Growth
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Duméril,
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Threatened Taxa 1(12): 624-626.
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.
Vyas, R. (2009). Notes on the
distribution and natural history of an endemic skink from India: Lygosoma lineata(Gray, 1839). Sauria 31(1):45-50.