A new mountain species of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam

A new species of ground skinks belonging to the genus Scincella is described from Tay Con Linh Range, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Scincella alia sp. nov. is characterized by a combination of the following characters: (1) slender, medium-sized body, snout-vent length 38.2–48.2 mm; (2) prefrontals separated from each other; (3) infralabials seven; (4) supraciliaries six; (5) two preoculars, three presuboculars, two postoculars, three postsuboculars; (6) supralabials separated from the eye by a row of small scales; (7) tympanum deeply recessed without lobules; (8) midbody scale rows 26 (rarely 28); (9) dorsal scales smooth, slightly enlarged, with paravertebral scale rows 56–63, ventral scale rows, including gulars, 66–76; (10) upper edge of lateral longitudinal stripes relatively straight, with four rows of medial dorsal scales; (11) enlarged, undivided lamellae beneath finger IV 7–10; (12) enlarged, undivided lamellae beneath toe IV 11–13; (13) ventral surface of head and belly lacking black spots, ventral surface of tail ornamented with dark sports; (14) dorsal surface of body grayish brown with small dark and pale sports; (15) ventral surface of throat, belly and base of tail from cream yellow in females to lemon yellow in males.

In phylogenetic analyses, the new species forms an independent lineage clearly distinct from all other congeners included in the study and divergent in the COI (p> 18.7%) and the 16S rRNA (p> 2.6%) mtDNA gene sequences. This discovery increases the number of known Scincella species to 43. Further studies reassessing the populations of the Scincella monticola complex in northern Vietnam are required.