A new species of rock skink (Scincidae: Liopholis) from the Central Ranges bioregion of arid Australia.

A new species of rock skink Liopholis Fitzinger 1843 (Scincidae) is described from the Mann-Musgrave Ranges of north-western South Australia. Liopholis margaretae sensu lato (Storr 1968) is currently known to occur in two disjunct populations: the MacDonnell Ranges bioregion and nearby regions in the Northern Territory, and the Central Ranges bioregion in South Australia. Based on morphological examination of both museum and field specimens, as well as on newly generated molecular data, we show that specimens from these two ranges constitute distinct species.