AI Article Synopsis
- The Chinese skink has multiple subspecies and is found in various regions including China, Taiwan, and Korea.
- Recent research has used both physical and genetic analysis to clarify the taxonomic status of specific subspecies found in Taiwan and nearby islets.
- Eastern Taiwanese populations show unique juvenile color patterns and genetic differences that warrant their classification as a distinct species, while western Taiwanese populations are genetically similar to mainland subspecies.
Article Abstract
The Chinese skink, (Gray, 1838), is widely distributed across continental China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and offshore islets, and consists of several subspecies. Here morphological and molecular methods have been used to reassess the taxonomic status and distributions of (Van Denburgh, 1912) and (Hikida, 1988), which are endemic to Taiwan and Green Island (an islet off the east coast of Taiwan), respectively. It can be confirmed that the eastern Taiwanese populations of exhibit similar juvenile color patterning and genetic composition to the islet subspecies , and are distinct from consubspecific populations in western Taiwan. Therefore, the eastern Taiwanese populations are assigned to , and this subspecies is recognized as a distinct species, (Hikida, 1988), based on their unique juvenile coloration and highly divergent DNA sequences. Our results also revealed that in western Taiwan is close to nominotypical subspecies from the continent, suggesting the necessity of a comprehensive taxonomic analysis in the future.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5672577 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.687.12742 | DOI Listing |
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