Two new Tytthoscincus Linkem, Diesmos, & Brown (Squamata; Scincidae) from Peninsular Malaysia and another case of microsyntopy between ecologically specialized, unrelated, leaf-litter species

Abstract

Two new species of diminutive, sympatric, lowland, leaf-litter skinks of the genus Tytthoscincus Linkem, Diesmos & Brown from the Sekayu region of Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu State in northeastern Peninsular Malaysia are described on the basis genetic and morphological data. One of the new species, T. monticolus sp. nov., was collected in a hilly riparian area along Sungai (=river) Bubu and is most closely related to an undescribed species from the Tembak Reservoir area. The other, T. keciktuek sp. nov. collected along Sungai Peres, is most closely related to T. perhentianensis Grismer, Wood, & Grismer from Pulau (=island) Perhentian Besar. Sympatry and syntopy of multiple, specialized, unrelated, leaf-litter species of Tytthoscincus was previously only known from upland areas and these new species represent the first example of lowland of sympatry. More importantly, however, these endemic species add to a growing body of research and discoveries that continue to underscore the unrealized biodiversity of the riparian systems of Hulu Terengganu and the Sekayu region and their need for protection and continued study.

Uneven species occurrence and richness of lowland snakes (Serpentes, Squamata) in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, with new locality records

“…Regrettably, this number is likely seriously underestimating the species richness of snakes from this area due to the short-term inventory executed by the study. In contrast, a few new discoveries in various faunal groups were made here such as crabs ( Ng and Ahmad 2016 ; Ng 2020 ), frogs ( Chan et al 2020 ), and skinks ( Grismer et al 2014b , 2018 ; Sumarli et al 2016 ), implying that the diversity of fauna is high in this underexplored forest.…”

Fish Species Richness, Their Importance and Conservation Status in Tropical Oil Palm Agroecosystem of Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia

“…Terengganu state has been chosen as the study site since Terengganu itself is very unique and ichthyodiverse, as 11 new species of freshwater fishes were previously described for the first time (type locality) from its river systems and water-bodies, namely Brevibora cheeya, Rasbora notura, Pangio alcoides, Pangio filinaris, Pangio piperata, Homaloptera parclitella, Amblyceps foratum, Akysis hendricksonii, Nanobagrus lemniscatus, Betta stigmosa, and Parosphromenus paludicola (Kottelat, 2013). The list goes on with the description of the new species of other animals, such as crabs (Ng, 2020;Ng and Ahmad, 2016) and reptiles (Grismer et al, 2018;Sumarli et al, 2016). The trends show that there are chances of getting more species if more surveys were done in the selected area in Terengganu.…”

Preliminary report on the herpetofaunal diversity of Batu Hampar Recreational Forest, Kedah, Malaysia

“…Malaysia is still underestimated as many new species continue to be discovered every year (Chan et al 2018;Grismer et al 2017Grismer et al , 2018Grismer et al , 2019bQuah et al 2020b). More surveys and research on the country's herpetofauna should be conducted in order to have a better understanding of their diversity and distributions so that efficient and effective conservation strategies can be developed and implemented.…”