Scincella ochracea

Morphological characters (determination after Bourret 1937, Ouboter 1986). Males: SVL 34.2–45.4 mm (mean ± SD 44 ±1.4 mm, n = 5), TaL 61.8–75.0 mm (n = 2); females: SVL 43.2–50.0 mm (mean ± SD 46.5±2.5 mm, n = 5), TaL 63.9 mm (n = 1). For further measurements and proportions see Table 1.

Head longer than wide; rostral wider than high; supranasals absent; prefrontals in contact with each other; parietals in contact posteriorly; enlarged nuchal scales in 0–3 pairs; loreals 2; supraciliaries 7 or 8; supraoculars 4, followed by two small scales; primary temporals 2; secondary temporals 2, upper very large and overlapped by lower one; lower eyelid with a large undivided opaque window, separated from supralabials by 1–3 row of small scales; supralabials 7 (rarely 8), the fifth and sixth below the eye; ear opening with 3 or 4 projecting lobules; tympanum deeply sunk; mental wider than long; infralabials 6 (rarely 5); postmental undivided; midbody scales in 30 or 32 rows; dorsal scales between lateral stripes in ½ + 6 + ½ rows, smooth, as large as lateral scales; paravertebral scales 61–67; ventrals in 66–71 transverse rows, smooth; precloacals 2, enlarged; medial subcaudals slightly widened; limbs short, pentadactyl; fingers and toes widely separated when adpressed; subdigital lamellae smooth, 9–11 under fourth finger and 15–17 under fourth toe.

Coloration in alcohol. Dorsum silver gray, with a dark vertebral stripe; upper lateral zone with a distinct reddish band from behind the eye to hind limb, with some light spots; the lower edge broken in somes small black dots; venter and underside of tail base cream or whitish. For coloration in life see Fig. 5.

Specimens were collected between 10:00 and 16:30 on the ground. The surrounding habitat was grass and shrub near a forest path.

In Vietnam, this species has been recorded from Lai Chau Province (Eremchenko, 2003). Elsewhere, this species is known from Laos (Bourret, 1937). This is the first record of the species from Son La and Dien Bien provinces.