Dasia olivacea Gray, 1839

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 : 119-120

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5287.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:78E23714-8973-4755-BC94-0A751D7D2B37

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7967842

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/88502B73-FFEC-B801-FF6B-44047B310C51

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Dasia olivacea Gray, 1839
status

 

Dasia olivacea Gray, 1839 View in CoL — Native.

Dasia olivacea Gray, 1839: 331 . Type material: None designated ; type material apparently lost, according to Smith (1935: 277) . Type locality: “Prince of Wales’s Island” (= Penang Island ), Peninsular Malaysia .

Olive Tree Skink

( Figure 14E View FIGURE 14 )

Singapore records.

Lygosoma olivaceum — Flower, 1896: 874 [“Galang” [= Geylang].— Flower, 1899: 649.— Hanitsch, 1899: 12 (Bukit Timah [BTNR]).—Ridley, 1899: 207.— Boulenger, 1912: 91.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 15.— Sworder, 1925a: 68 (Kranji).— Cross, 2020n: 6, 7 (Changi).

Dasia olivacea View in CoL — Inger & Brown, 1980: 8–9.—K. Lim, 1990a: 10 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 55.— Denzer & Manthey, 1991: 316.—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 103, 149.—K.K.P. Lim, 1993a: 4 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.— K.K.P. Lim, 1994b: 220, 231.—R. Subaraj et al., 1995: 4.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 1995: 122.—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 386 (Nee Soon East [NSSF]; Nee Soon Range [NSSF]; Taban & Lasia Valleys [BTNR]).— Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 260.— Cox et al., 1998: 113.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 26.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 149.—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2008: 168, 265 (Pulau Ubin).—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 84, 160.— Das, 2010: 230.—L.L. Grismer, 2011a: 140.— L.L. Grismer, 2011b: 551, 556.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 84, 160.—N. Baker, 2014e: 297 (Old Upper Thomson Road).—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 113.— Geissler & Kupfer, 2019: 297.—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 158, 180.—N. Baker, 2020a: 13.—K.K.P. Lim, 2020: 2, 5 (Changi).— Janssen & Sy, 2022: 105, 164.— Kurniawan et al., 2022: 110.

Remarks. Together with D. grisea, Figueroa et al. (2020) reviewed all records of D. olivacea from Singapore and added a new record from Springleaf Forest of an individual basking at the top of a coconut tree on 13 June 2018 ( Fig. 14E View FIGURE 14 ). Unlike D. grisea , D. olivacea has been known from Singapore for a long time ever since Flower (1896) examined a specimen Ridley collected from a coconut tree in Geylang. Dasia olivacea is notably rarer than D. grisea , having only been reported nine times. Between publication of the third (Sworder 1925) and fourth records (Lim 1990), 65 years elapsed ( Table 2 View TABLE 2 ). In addition, there are two specimens deposited at CAS that were collected by Herre in 1937, and two previously unpublished records by Cross (2020n) from Changi in 1945 that were recently published ( Lim 2020). Adding these four records brings the total number of records of D. olivacea in Singapore to 13. Figueroa et al. (2020) perceived that D. olivacea may be less common than D. grisea because it is being outcompeted by D. grisea , or perhaps because D. grisea has become more successful by adapting to using large exotic trees that tend to contain many cavities or exfoliating bark useful for evading predators.

Occurrence. Restricted to CNR and surrounding Nature Parks and forests. Rare.

Singapore conservation status. Critically Endangered.

Conservation priority. Highest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2021].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1896.6 .25.21 (no date) , ZRC.2.1599 (27-Feb-1923) ; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve : ZRC.2.2589 (08-Apr-1990) ; Nee Soon Swamp Forest : ZRC.2.4845 (29-Nov-2000) ; Old Upper Thomson Road : ZRC.2.7063 (10-Apr-2014) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve: CAS.

Singapore localities. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Changi*—Geylang*—Kranji—Nee Soon Swamp Forest— Old Upper Thomson Road—Pulau Ubin—Springleaf Forest.

Genus Emoia Gray, 1845 (1 species)

Emoia Gray, 1845: 95 View in CoL (type species: Scincus atrocostatus Lesson, 1830 , by subsequent designation by Stejneger, 1899: 807; gender feminine).

NHMUK

Natural History Museum, London

ZRC

Zoological Reference Collection, National University of Singapore

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Scincidae

Genus

Dasia

Loc

Dasia olivacea Gray, 1839

Figueroa, Alex, Low, Martyn E. Y. & Lim, Kelvin K. P. 2023
2023
Loc

Dasia olivacea

Janssen, J. & Sy, E. 2022: 105
Kurniawan, N. & Septiadi, L. & Fathoni, M. & Kadafi, A. M. & Marhendra, A. P. W. 2022: 110
Lim K. K. P. 2020: 2
Geissler, P. & Kupfer, A. 2019: 297
Baker, N. 2014: 297
Grismer, L. L. 2011: 140
Grismer, L. L. 2011: 551
Das, I. 2010: 230
Lim, K. P. & Lim, F. L. K. 2002: 149
Cox, M. J. & van Dijk, P. P. & Nabhitabhata, J. & Thirakhupt, K. 1998: 113
Manthey, U. & Grossmann, W. 1997: 260
Chou L. M. & Ng, P. K. L. & Lim, K. K. P. 1994: 105
Lim, K. K. P. 1994: 220
Lim, K. K. P. 1993: 4
Lim, K. K. P. & Lim, F. L. K. 1992: 103
Denzer, W. & Manthey, U. 1991: 316
Lim, K. 1990: 10
Inger, R. F. & Brown, W. C. 1980: 8
1980
Loc

Lygosoma olivaceum

Cross, A. 2020: 6
Boulenger, G. A. 1912: 91
Hanitsch, R. 1912: 15
Flower, S. S. 1899: 649
Hanitsch, R. 1899: 12
Flower, S. S. 1896: 874
1896
Loc

Emoia

Gray, J. E. 1845: 95
1845
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