Table Of ContentCARUA PARRHASIUS, A NEW QUEENSLANDSKJNK
P.] COUPER.J.A.COVACEVICHAND PJ.LETHBRIDGE
Couper, P.J., Covacevich, J.A. & Lethbridge, PJ, 1994 06 01; Carltaparrhasius, a new
Queenslandskink.MemoirsoftheQueenslandMuseum35(1):31-33. Brisbane.ISSN0079-
S835.
Carltaparrhasius sp.nov. is described from the Glennie Tableland, an isolated sandstone
blockonNECapeYorkPeninsuIa.itisdistinguishedfromitscongenersbyboldbrown/black
and whitebody stripes,combinedwitha fire-redtail.DScincidae, Carltaparrhasius. Cape
YorkPeninsula, sandstone,Morethia.
PJ. Couper & J.A. Covacevich, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brishanr,
Queensland4107,Australia;PJ.Lethbridg*\ DepartmentofEnvironmentandHeritage, PO
Box2066, Cairns, Queensland4870, Australia; 15Detember 1993.
Skinks ofthe genus Carlta are well known in !42u56.7rE, ±250m,FNEQ,PJ. Lethbridge&J.W.
Australia, especially in the NE, where they are Winter, 25 Apr 1993.
conspicuous fortheir large populations and high Paratyp&S: QMJ57867. QMJ57869, 24 Apr 1993
species diversity. Twenty-one species arc recog- Othercollectiondetailsasforholotype.
&
nised (Ingram Covacevich,1989). Colour and
pattern are important in distinguishing the DrAGNOSIS
species, because there is considerable overlap in Body black and white striped with fire-red tail
many scale characters Most known Carlta spp. isauniquecolourpattern in Carlia. Dorsal scales
are some shade of brown and have an array of with weak carinations made up of a series of
distinctspots,dashesorstripesbywhichmostcan points,andlong,acuteearlobulesaresharedwith
lie distinguished readily. Male breeding colours 2 (of 3) species restricted to rock habitats (C.
are sometimes especially distinct (Ingram & rimula, C. scirtetis) which also have distinct
Covacevich,1980,1989). Our new four fingered colourpatterns(Ingram&Covacevich,!989).but
Carlta may be distinguished in form and size bearno resemblance to C. parrhasius.
from other Australian genera of four-fingered
skinks, except Lygisaurus. It is excluded from Description
Lygisat4rushy itshighsupradigita)scalecounton Holotype. SVL 27.4mm. Lengths (% SVL).
thefourthtoe(>10).AllLygisaurusspecieshave Tail77.6%(damaged),forelimb30.6%,hindlimb
<10 supradigital scales on the fourth toe. The 40.7%, head length 23.5%, head width 14.9%,
colour and pattern of the new skink are both axilla-groin46.1%.
boldly distinct amongst Carlta, and highly con- Prefrontals large, moderately spaced. Frontal
avefrugseendt lwoitwherfievyee-lifdin(gvesretdheMomroevtehaibal,ewheyieclhidhaisn eflroonntgaaltes.ca1l.e4stiimnescoanstlaocnt.gaFsrownitdoep.aIrnileetranlassafluasnedd
Carlia). The new species has a brown/black and formingasingleshield.Interparietal free.Parietal
white striped body with a fire-red tail. Field and scales in broad contact behind the interparietal
first-level laboratory examinations suggested as- Enlarged nuchal scales 2. Nuchal scales in con-
signment toMorethia. tact with the posterior edge of the parietals 4.
Abbreviations used are: Queensland Museum Supralabials 7, fifth largest and below eye, liv
QM; farnortheastern Queensland, FNEQ;snout- fralabials6-7. Presuboculars2. Loreals2, Supra
vent length, SVL. oculars 4, first two incontact with frontal. Supra
ciliaries 7. Lower eyelid movable. Transparent
SYSTEMATICS palpebral disc occupying more than half the
lower eyelid. One primary temporal. Secondary
Carlia parrhasius sp. nov. temporals2,upperlargestandoverlappinglower.
(Figs 1,2) Ear aperture round, much smallerthan palpebral
disc and surrounded by long acute lobules.
Material Examined Postmental in contact with first 2 infralabiak
Holotype: QMJ57868. Aznre Creek, at 140±20nv Midbody scale rows 28. Paravertebrals 49.
tilennieTableland,CapeYorkPeninsula. 12°21.96'S. Mid-dorsal scales with smoothly curved
MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLAND MUSEUM
FIG. 1. Holotype of Carlia parrhasius *p. nOv„
QMJ57868(G.Cranitch).
posterior edges; dorsal and lateral scales with
weak carinations, broken up into a series of
smaller points. Digits on forelimb 4. Digits on
hindlimb 5. Subdigital lamellae (fourth toe) 27,
smooth. Plantar scales rounded Supradigital
scales (fourth toe) 12.
Brown/blackgroundcolourbrokenby silvery-
white longitudinal stripes (midlateral, dor-
solateral and vertebral). The midlateral and
dorsolateralstripesrunfromthesidesofthehead FIG.2.Carliaparrhasiussp.nov.,QMJ57869. Dorsal
and lateral views ofhead
to the base ofthe tail, broadening posteriorly to
the hindlimbs. The vertebral stripe is shorter, tablelandfallstotheinlandrollingdownsatabout
beginning on the nape and running slightly 140m.Deeplyincisedvalleysradiateoutfromthe
beyond the hindlimbs. Head coppery-brown. plateau and drainage is mainly into the Olive
Limbs mid-brown,speckled with white. Tail un- River. Sandstonecliffs, usually in a 2-3 terraces,
patterned along most of its length, and flushed with cliffs upto 15m in height, line the incised
with red. Venter, silvery-white. valleys, particularly along the N and E sides of
Paratypes. SVL 26.2-33.5mm. Lengths (% theplateau.Thepredominantvegetationisgrassy
SVL). Tail 149.6% <regeneraied)-195.8% eucalypt woodland, with numerous patches (the
(original), forelimb 29.7-30.8%, hindlimb39.1- largestofabout 50ha)ofmesophyll vine forestat
40.97c, head length 21.7-24.4%, head width the heads of the deeply incised valleys. Small
14.0-16.2%. Prefrontals large, moderately to patches of windswept low heath occur on the
widely spaced. Internasal and frontal scales in summit. The plateau is the best developed
moderate to broad contact. Supralabials 6-7, sandstone cliff habitat north of the 'Quinkan
usually 7. Infralabials 6. Midbody scale rows Country' in the Lauradistrict.
27-28. Subdigital lamellae (fourth toe) 26-27. C.parrhasius wascollectedonlargesandstone
Supradigital scales (fourth toe) II. QMJ57867 fragments at the base Of the cliffs and the talus
similar to holotype in pattern and colour. slope below them. Vegetation was grassy
QMJ57869 has a mid-brown ground colour and eucalypt woodland, canopy height c.l5m, with
lessclearlydefinedstripesanda midlateral stripe dominant trees including Darwin Stringybark
which is only just discernible. Its tail is mid- (Eucalyptus teiradanta), a bloodwood (£. cf.
brown, lacking any red. hylatulii) and Cooktown Ironwood {Erythroph-
leum chlorostachys). The understorcy contained
Habitat scattered Bushman's Clothes Peg (Grevdlea
The Glennie Tableland is a sandstone plateau glauca) and an Acacia [Acaciact crassicarpa).
(Pis. 3)ofthe MesozoicGilbertRiverFormation Groundcoverwasofmedium- densegrass, upto
(Willmott & Powell,1977). 60km NW of the 1 5m talh on rocky ground
Lockhart Aboriginal Community. The plateau is
c.20km N-S and 10km at its widest point. The
mainescarpment facescast, rising fromthecoas- Etymology
tal plain to nearly 300m, with a less pronounced For the Greek artist, Parrhasius, a master of
escarpment on the western side, where the deception throughhis work.
A NEWQUEENSLANDSKJNK 33
suggest from these meagre data, that the pattern
in C. parrhasius may be ajuvenile character.
Blackandwhitestripedbodiesandredtailsare
seen in Ctenotusspp. (C decaneurus, C. leae, C.
striaticeps, some C. taeniolatus)\ M. ruficauda,
M. storri; and some Proablepharus kinghorni.
One striking foreign example is Lygosoma
punctata, from Sri Lanka (daSilva, pers.comm).
Red tails have been observed in the males of
several Carlia spp. during the breeding season
and in some species ofLygisaurus.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TheGlennieTablelandwasselectedforsurvey
intheCapeYorkPeninsulaLandUseStrategyby
John Winter, who was also co-collector of the
type specimens. Mr Fred Sebulla allowed the
survey team access to the Glennie Tableland.
Gary Cranitch and Bruce Cowell prepared the
photographs. Keith McDonald and Glen Ingram
provided helpful comments on the manuscript.
LITERATURECITED
INGRAM, G.J. & COVACEVICH, J.A. 1980. Two
new lygosomine skinks endemic to Cape York
Peninsula. Pp. 45-48. In Bailey, A. & Stevens,
N.C. (eds), 'Contemporary Cape York
Peninsula'. (Royal Society ofQueensland: Bris-
FIG. 3. Habitat of Carlia parrhasius, Glennie bane).
Tableland.CapeYorkPeninsula(J.Winter). 1989. Revision ofthe genus Carlia(Reptilia, Scin-
cidae) in Australia with comments on Carlia
Remarks hicarinata of New Guinea. Memoirs of the
QueenslandMuseum 27(2):443-490.
The holotype and paratypc ? (QMJ57867) WILLMOTT. W.F. & POWELL, B.S. 1977. Cape
sharethesameboldcolourandpattern; thelarger Weymouth - 1:250,000 Geological Series.
paratype 6 (QMJ57869) is basically brown (vs Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources ex-
We
black), possibly due to age or preservation. planatory notes SD/54-4.
