Prasinohaema scurrula Slavenko, Shea & Oliver, 2025, sp. nov.

Prasinohaema scurrula sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 8BE96E88-5CFE-41EB-9908-68B7769FC4D6 Figs. 2–6 Holotype SAMA R65176 (Field number SJR12137), Apalu Reke (-5.4862, 142.3019), 2,875 m a.s.l., Muller Range, Hela Province, Papua New Guinea, collected by Stephen Richards on 21 September 2009. Paratype. PNGNM 24992 Tari Gap (nearest town Tari), 2,700 m a.s.l., Hela Province, Papua New Guinea, collected by Clifford Frith between 24 December 1988 to 30 January 1989. Approximate coordinates are -5.9515, 143.1463, georeferenced based on aerial photo in Frith & Frith (1990), detailing the location of a Pteridophora alberti Meyer, 1894 nest next to which the paratype was collected (C. Frith pers. comm.). Diagnosis. Prasinohaema scurrula sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other Lobulia group skinks by the combination of adult SVL up to at least 70 mm, snout short and relatively blunt; prefrontals not in contact, primary temporal not divided, parietals fully separated by interparietal, lower eyelid with two enlarged opaque scales centrally, more than two chin shields in medial contact, posterior chin shields separated from infralabials by a short row of 2–3 genials, subdigital lamellae only moderately expanded (distal lamellae typically around double width of proximal lamellae), lining of mouth blue in life, dorsal pattern of dark-brown crossbands, and venter with dark brown chequerboard pattern. Description. Snout short, dorsal margin convex in lateral profile; rostral wider than tall, in contact posteriorly with first supralabial, nasals and frontonasal, median lobe slightly rounded; frontonasal wider than long, in contact posteriorly with prefrontals and frontal, suture with frontal narrower than that with rostral and narrower than width of frontal at level of suture between second supraocular and frontoparietal; prefrontals moderately separated, in contact posteriorly with frontal, first supraocular and first supraciliary; frontal kite-shaped, longer than wide (paratype with anterior angle hived off as a small azygous scale, and posterior angle partially cleft longitudinally); one pair of frontoparietals, left overlapping right; supraoculars four, second extending most medially, third narrowest, first two contacting frontal, last three contacting frontoparietals; interparietal kite-shaped, shorter and narrower than frontal (paratype with anterior lobe of interparietal hived off as an azygous scale between frontoparietals), posteriorly completely separating parietals (Fig. 2); parietal eye spot absent (Fig. 3A&F). Nasal oblique, anteroventral to posterodorsal length shorter than anterodorsal to posteroventral length, contacting frontonasal dorsally and anterior loreal posteriorly; nostril central in nasal; a weak postnarial groove beginning ventral to nostril, arcing around posterior margin to posterodorsal side; no supranasal or postnasal; anterior loreal taller than long, partially (holotype) or completely (paratype) divided into smaller upper scale and larger lower scale, and dorsally contacting frontonasal and prefrontal, posteriorly contacting posterior loreal; posterior loreal squarish, but narrower ventrally, contacting prefrontal and first supraciliary dorsally, and first preocular and first presubocular posteriorly; on right side of paratype, posterior loreal divided into smaller upper and larger lower scale, together slightly taller than wide; supraciliaries nine (eight on R side of paratype), first four (three on R side of paratype) contacting first supraocular (fourth only narrowly so), first longer than the rest, narrowly separated from frontal, last two progressively arcing medially behind fourth supraocular, last overlapping parietal; a large anterior preocular wedged between first supraciliary and first presubocular, reaching posterior loreal anteriorly, followed by small second preocular that subtends both upper and lower palpebral rows; presuboculars three; postsuboculars four, first (lowermost) interdigitating between fifth and sixth supralabials, uppermost overlapped by last supraciliary, overlapping corner of parietal; upper palpebrals in contact with supraciliary row along most of its length, anterior part of row separated from supraciliaries by one (holotype) or 2L/3R (paratype) oblique scales; lower palpebrals shallow; the two central subpalpebrals enlarged, equivalent to a “window” but opaque; primary temporal single, overlapped by upper three postsuboculars and penultimate supralabial; secondary temporals two, upper longer than tall, overlapped by parietal, uppermost postsubocular and primary temporal; lower secondary temporal overlapped by upper secondary, primary and last supralabial; supralabials seven, first four squarish, last two pentagonal, first dorsally contacting nasal and narrowly anterior loreal (holotype) or just nasal (paratype), second contacting anterior loreal broadly and posterior loreal more narrowly, without (holotype) or narrowly with (paratype) contact with nasal as well, third narrowly contacting posterior loreal, broadly contacting first presubocular, and very narrowly contacting second presubocular, fourth contacting second and third presuboculars, fifth below centre of eye, separating pre- and postsubocular series, contacting 6L/5R (holotype) or 3L/2R (paratype) granules of lower eyelid; postsupralabials two; nuchals irregularly and asymmetrically differentiated, holotype with first pair of enlarged nuchals extending laterally to reach upper secondary temporals followed by 2L/1R narrower nuchals, paratype with two scales between paravertebral scales and upper secondary temporals bilaterally, and first few paravertebrals of irregular width; ear ovoid, taller than long, height about equal to height of lower eyelid, with two (holotype) or three (paratype) low lobules along anterior margin. Mental similar width to rostral, but shallower on midline; postmental slightly narrower than mental; infralabials seven (holotype) or 8L/7 R (paratype), first two contacting postmental, second to third (L on holotype, R on paratype) or second to fourth contacting chin shields, remainder separated by one or more rows of intervening scales; paratype with first two pairs of chin shields in median contact, third pair of chin shields medially separated by two scales; fourth pair of chin shields separated medially by three scales; holotype with asymmetrical chin shields, first two on left contacting first on right, second on right narrowly separated from its partner on the left by a single scale, third pair separated by two scales, but right scale laterally shortened to allow contact between second and fourth chin shield of that side, fourth pair separated by three/four irregular scales. Body scales glossy, in 32 (holotype) or 34 (paratype) longitudinal rows at midbody; dorsals irregularly longitudinally grooved (holotype) or smooth (paratype), slightly wider than long, paravertebral series not enlarged, 62 to level of anterior margin of hindlimb (both specimens), 65 (holotype) or 66 (paratype) to posterior margin of hindlimb; medial precloacals enlarged and laterally overlapping the adjacent precloacals; median subcaudals slightly wider than laterally adjoining subcaudals; tip of tail rounded with slight development of a ventral “pad”. Limbs pentadactyle, third and fourth fingers of similar length; fourth toe longest. On toes, basal subdigital lamellae only slightly wider than distal subdigital lamellae, and width gradually diminishes distally.Fourth toe slightly dorsally arched at second interphalangeal joint; fifth toes slightly arched at first interphalangeal joint. Lamellae under fourth toe 16L/19R (holotype) or 20/20 (paratype); terminal three scales above fourth toe undivided. Measurements and proportions Holotype: SVL 70 mm, AGL 37 mm (52.9% of SVL); tail autotomised at base; FLL 18 mm (25.7% of SVL); HLL 27 mm (38.6% of SVL); (FLL + HLL)/AGL 121.6%; HL 13.4 mm (19.1% of SVL); HW 10.0 mm (74.6% of HL); HD 7.4 mm (55.2% of HL). Paratype: SVL 64 mm; AGL 31.5 mm (49.2% of SVL); TL 93 mm (145% of SVL); FLL 18 mm (28.1% of SVL); HLL 27 mm (42.2% of SVL); (FLL + HLL)/AGL 142.9%; HL 13.6 mm (21.3% of SVL); HW 10.1 mm (74.3% of HL); HD 8.0 mm (58.8% of HL). Colouration (in preservative). Description based on holotype and paratype. Dorsal ground colour light olive brown (Figs. 3 & 4). Dorsal head shields with small irregular dark brown spots along some scale margins, particularly medially. Neck and body dorsum with irregular darker brown transversely oriented macules, only weakly aligned to become broken bands, giving appearance of a “chequerboard” pattern of light and dark patches. Dark macules and pale interspaces both about 2–3 scales long from anterior to posterior. Tail dorsum with similar rectangular markings, but less contrasting (mid brown) and more transversely aligned to create bands. Laterally, ground colour transitioning from light brown dorsally to light yellow-grey ventrally. An irregularly edged dark brown stripe beginning over loreal region (where narrowest), along upper and lower edges of orbit, over upper temporal region (containing a few paler spots), then along upper flanks, where it broadens and breaks up into a coarse dark brown reticulum (containing some spots of pale ground colour) blending with the lateral parts of the dorsal pattern, and extending more ventrally as mid-brown barring. Lateral surface of tail with extensions of the mid-brown dorsal bands. Venter yellow-grey, throat immaculate, body and tail with mid-brown extensions of the lateral pattern of blotches towards the midline (but not reaching it in the paratype). Forelimbs light brown above with weakly defined and coarse brown reticulum above, yellow-grey below; palms yellowish-grey. Hindlimbs light brown above, anteriorly and posteriorly with a coarse dark brown reticulum, yellow-grey below with weak extensions of the dark reticulum encroaching; soles pale yellow. Parietal peritoneum black, vis