Eutropis longicaudata (Hallowell, 1857)

Figueroa, Alex, Low, Martyn E. Y. & Lim, Kelvin K. P., 2023, Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution, Zootaxa 5287 (1), pp. 1-378 : 253-254

Eutropis longicaudata (Hallowell, 1857) — Non-native; Introduced.

Long-tailed Sun Skink

Singapore records.

Eutropis longicaudata —A. Tay, 2019a: 77 (Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery).

Remarks. Eutropis longicaudata is known from three specimens from Singapore. The first is specimen SAMA R13857. The specimen is problematic because it is only a skull and the label has the date “ 1 July 1973 ” and the phrases, “SA DEPT AGRICULTURE” and “ex shipping container”. Thus, it is difficult to verify the identity of the species, and it appears the specimen was confiscated by the South Australia Department of Agriculture from a shipping container arriving from Singapore. Two possibilities are that the lizard entered the shipping container as a stowaway from Singapore or from the destination of origin of the shipment, or the shipping container contained a shipment of animals that was transported through Singapore. The second observation was of an individual photographed at Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery on 10 April 2019 (Tay 2019a), and the third was spotted near Kranji Reservoir on 14 April 2021 (A. Figueroa pers. obs.). Eutropis longicaudata ranges from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and southern China south to Pahang and Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia ( Grismer 2011b). Given the location, the photographed specimen most likely entered Singapore as a stowaway on ornamental plants.

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. No specimens.

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): SAMA.

Genus Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 (1 species)

Lygosoma siamensis Siler, Heitz, Davis, Freitas, Aowphol, Termprayoon & Grismer, 2018 — Non-native; Introduced.

Siamese Supple Skink

Singapore records.

Lygosoma chalcides — Cantor, 1847a: 656.— Flower, 1896: 876.— Flower, 1899: 614, 652.—Ridley, 1899: 207.— Chasen, 1925: 100.

Lygosoma quadrupes (non-Linnaeus, 1766)—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 132.—L.J. Lim, 2016: 68 (Botanic Gardens).

Lygosoma siamensis —J.K.I. Ho, 2019: 42 (Botanic Gardens).

Remarks. Until recently, L. siamensis was known as L. quadrupes (Siler et al. 2018) . Cantor (1847a) listed Singapore as part of the distribution for L. siamensis based on a specimen at the Museum of the Asiatic Society, but the specimen was from Penang (Theobald 1868). No other specimens were collected from Singapore, and subsequent papers do not consider L. siamensis as part of Singapore’s lizard fauna (Sworder 1925; Baker & Lim 2012). However, recently two specimens were collected at SBG on 29 February 2016 (Lim 2016) and on 16 March 2019 (Ho 2019). This locale hints to the individuals arriving as stowaways, which is highly likely since Flower (1899) mentioned one that was caught on a ship traveling from Thailand to Singapore. In addition, L. siamensis only ranges as far south as central Peninsular Malaysia ( Grismer 2011b), but Grismer (2011b) suspected that it likely ranges throughout Peninsular Malaysia given its presence in Sumatra and Java, and its extremely cryptic nature. Thus, there is a possibility that L. siamensis does occur in Singapore, but this conclusion requires additional specimens. For now, we exclude L. siamensis from Singapore’s herpetofauna list.

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Botanic Gardens: ZRC.2.7151 (29-Feb-2016) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. No specimens.