Sphenomorphus indicus

Morphological characters (determination after Smith 1935, Taylor 1963, Nguyen et al. 2011). Large-sized skinks, females: SVL 78.8–82.6 mm (n = 2), TaL 141.3–151 mm (n = 2); males: SVL 63.4–69.6 mm (n = 2), TaL 112.2 mm (n = 1). For further measurements and proportions see Table 1.

Head longer than wide; rostral wider than high; supranasals absent; prefrontals separated from each other by frontal; parietals in contact posteriorly; one pair of enlarged nuchal scales; loreals 2; supraoculars 4, followed by two small postsupraoculars; primary temporals 2; secondary temporals 2; lower eyelid scaly; supralabials 7, the fifth and sixth below the eye, separated from it by a row of small scales; external ear present, with three very small lobules, tympanum deeply sunk; mental wider than long; infralabials 7; postmental undivided; midbody scales in 34–36 rows; dorsal scales between lateral stripes in ½ + 8 + ½ rows, smooth, as large as the lateral scales; paravertebral scales 68–74; ventrals in 65–69 transverse rows, smooth; precloacals 2, enlarged; medial subcaudals not widened; limbs short, pentadactyl; fingers and toes meeting when adpressed; subdigital lamellae smooth, 11 under fourth finger and 15–18 under fourth toe.

Coloration in alcohol. Dorsum and tail base bronze brown; upper lateral zone with a dark gray stripe, in width of 3 or 4 scales, from behind eye to tail base; light dorsolateral stripe present on neck and shoulder, the lower margin of dark stripe with some broken light spots; lower lateral zone light gray; ventral white. For coloration in life see Fig. 7.

The specimens were collected between 9:00 and 12:00 on the ground. The surrounding habitat was secondary forest of small hardwood, bamboo and shrub.

In Vietnam, this species is a common species known from Lao Cai and Lang Son provinces in the North southwards to Dong Nai Province. Elsewhere, this species has been recorded from India, Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia (Nguyen et al., 2009). This is the first record of the species in Dien Bien Province.