Graduation Semester and Year
2018
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Quantitative Biology
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Eric N Smith
Abstract
Scincid lizards are one of the most diverse group of squamate reptiles, found from tropical to temperate habitats worldwide. In the tropical rain forests of Java, Sumatra, and other parts of the Sunda Shelf biological hotspot a higher diversity of these lizards is expected, particularly in comparison to adjacent terrains. Lack of exploration and cryptic diversity of skinks in these areas might amount for the disproportionate low numbers. Recently, large-scale herpetological exploration of Java and Sumatra has been done as a collaboration between the University of Texas at Arlington, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and Brawijaya University. Large numbers of amphibians and reptiles, including skink specimens, have resulted from these concerted effort, and are now available for study in herpetological collections. With these new samples, the systematics of skinks in Java and Sumatra is reviewed, using integrated molecular and morphological approaches. Mitochondrial and nuclear loci have been used to estimate a concatenated data phylogeny estimate, as well as, a coalescent species tree, a time calibrated phylogeny, and genetic distance molecular species delimitation. Meristic and mensurable morphological characters have been used in discriminant functional analyses, skull anatomy has been compared, and ecological niche modeling examined for taxonomic consideration. We have studied in detail the Common Sun Skinks of the Eutropis mutifasciata complex, the Asian diminutive forest skinks of the genus Tytthoscincus, and the forest skinks in the genus Sphenomorphus. The results reveal hidden diversity of species in Java and Sumatra, and the occurrence of a new genus and two new species allied to the Sphenomorphus group, two new species of Tytthoscincus, resurrection of a junior synonym and elevating to species level several subspecies of Eutropis and Tytthoscincus. Finally, we transfer several species of Sphenomorphus to Tytthoscincus. The systematic revision of skinks in Java and Sumatra revealed an underestimated diversity, finding that can lead to a reassessment of conservation priority areas and their management.
Keywords
Eutropis mutifasciata complex, Sphenomorphus, taxonomy, Tytthoscincus
Disciplines
Biology | Life Sciences
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Thammachoti, Panupong, "USING INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO STUDY THE SYSTEMATICS OF SCINCID LIZARDS IN THE LOWER SUNDA SHELF" (2018). Biology Dissertations. 145.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/biology_dissertations/145
Comments
Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington