Counting stripes: revision of the complex (Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae) with description of two new species from Indochina.

We provide an integrative taxonomic analysis of the species complex from mainland Southeast Asia. Based on examination of external morphology, color pattern, and 681 base pairs of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I () mitochondrial gene, we demonstrate the presence of four morphologically distinct lineages of in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia, showing a sequence divergence ranging 15.5%-20.4%. All discovered lineages are discretely diagnosable from one another by a combination of scalation traits and color patterns. A review of the published distribution data and a re-examination of available type material revealed the following results:(1) distribution of (Boulenger, 1894) is restricted to Sundaland and the Thai-Malay Peninsula south of the Isthmus of Kra; (2) (Boettger, 1901) is elevated to full species rank; the species has a wide distribution from central and southern Vietnam across Cambodia to eastern Thailand; we regard Smith, 1922 and Cochran, 1930 as its junior synonyms; (3) occurs in hilly areas of southern Vietnam, Cambodia, and eastern Thailand; and (4) is currently known only from a narrow area along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border in the foothills of the central Annamite Mountain Range. We further provide an identification key for occurring in mainland Southeast Asia.