First record of Riopa haroldyoungi from Laos

Herpetology Notes, volume 1: 9-10 (published online on 20 September 2008)
First record of Riopa haroldyoungi from Laos
Jiří Moravec1, Wolfgang Böhme2
Harold Young’s supple skink, Riopa haroldyoungi
Tailor, 1962, is a rare little known skink occurring
in Thailand. Recently, Pauwels et al. (2008) listed
fourteen Thai localities of this species and considered
its presence plausible also in Burma (Myanmar),
Cambodia and Laos. Here we report on a museum
specimen of R. haroldyoungi, which certifies this
premise and definitively confirms the occurrence of this
species within the borders of Laos.
The given voucher specimen of R. haroldyoungi
(fig. 1) is deposited in the herpetological collection of
the National Museum in Prague (NMP6V 34433). It
represents an adult male collected by T. Scholz near
Nan Kheuat in the vicinity of Nam Ngum reservoir
(approximately 18°30’N, 102°30’E) on July 29, 1989
and extends the known range of R. haroldyoungi ca. 70–
1 Department of Zoology, National Museum, 115 79 Prague 1,
Czech Republic; jiri.moravec@nm.cz
80 km NW of the closest Thai locality (Rattana Wapi,
18°15’N, 103°10’E; fig. 2).
Measurements (mm), scalation characters and colour
pattern of the Laos specimen correspond well to the
data given for the holotype of R. haroldyoungi by
Taylor (1962, 1963) (in parentheses): SVL 148 (136);
tail regenerated; axilla-groin distance 112 (97); foreleg
length 11.5 (11.0); hind leg 17.0 (12.0); supralabials
(left/right) 9/9 (9), first supralabial twice as large as the
following; internasals in contact medially; prefrontals
widely separated; frontal large, pentagonal, elongated;
frontoparietals fused into a single shield; parietals
distinctly larger than interparietal, in contact posteriorly;
one large nuchal-like scale behind parietals (no distinct
nuchals); body scales smooth; 46 scales around neck
(47); 38–40 scales around midbody (40–42); 141 scales
in row from parietals to point above vent (143); 7 slightly
larger preanal scales (10); 6 lamellae under fourth toe
(6–7 under longer toes); in alcohol, dorsal colouration
dark brown with ca. 27 irregular often broken transverse
light bands (32).
2 Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum A. Koenig, Adenauerallee
160, S-53113 Bonn, Germany; w.boehme.zfmk@uni-bonn.de
Figure 1. Adult male of Riopa haroldyoungi from the vicinity of Nam Ngum reservoir, Laos.
10
Jiří Moravec & Wolfgang Böhme
Acknowledgements. We thank Dr. Tomáš Scholz
(Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the ASCR)
for kind donation of his Laos reptile collection to the
National Museum Prague. The work of the first author
(JM) was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the
Czech Republic, project No. DE06P04OMG008.
References
Pauwels, O.S.G., Kunya, K., McLean, M., Böhme, W. (2008):
Youngs Laubskink, Riopa haroldyoungi Taylor, 1962 in Thailand. Elaphe, 16 (2): 56–59.
Taylor, E.H. (1962): New Oriental reptiles. Univ. Kansas Sci.
Bull., 43 (7): 209–263.
Taylor, E.H. (1963): The lizards of Thailand. Univ. Kansas Sci.
Bull., 44 (14): 687–1077.
Figure 2. Schematic map showing distribution of Riopa haroldyoungi in Tailand (circles; data from Pauwels et al. 2008) and Laos
(square).