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Oligosoma prasinum sp. nov. Figure 5a, b Oligosoma aff. lineoocellatum “Mackenzie Basin” HITCHMOUGH, R., BULL, L. & CROMARTY, P. 2007; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2010; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2013; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2016 b Holotype. Tekapo, Mt Hay (43° 59’S, 170° 28’E), NMNZ RE005462, male (coll. G. Patterson, 0 1 Nov 1990); Paratypes (9 specimens). Tekapo, Mt Hay (43° 00’S, 170° 34’E), 2 specimens (NMNZ RE005447, OR; NMNZ RE005448, organs removed) (coll. G. Patterson, 30 Nov 1984); Tekapo (44° 01’S, 170° 29’E), 3 specimens (NMNZ RE005464, male; NMNZ RE005465, OR; NMNZ RE005466, OR) (coll. G. Patterson, 0 1 Jan 1990); Tekapo (-44° 00’S, 170° 48’E), 4 specimens (NMNZ RE006222, OR; NMNZ RE006223, organs removed; NMNZ RE006224, organs removed; NMNZ RE006225, organs removed) (coll. C. Daugherty, 26 Nov 1985). Diagnosis. Oligosoma prasinum can be distinguished from other species in the O. lineoocellatum species complex by a combination of characters. The subdigital lamellae count is usually above 24, compared with O. kokowai sp. nov. and O.lineoocellatum where it is usually below 24. There are significant differences between O. prasinum sp. nov. and O. kokowai sp. nov. and O. elium sp. nov. (midbody scales; Figure 6b). The lower ciliary count is usually below 9, whereas in O. lineoocellatum it is usually 9 or above. In O. elium sp. nov. the UC count usually higher than 6, whereas in O. prasinum sp. nov. it can be lower than 6. This species always has more than 1 nuchal pairs, compared with O. kokowai sp. nov. that always has 1 pair. The pale dorsolateral stripe is usually not as pronounced as in the other species. Unlike Hardy’s (1977) observation, we did not find the VS useful in differentiating the species, as there was a big range in counts, e.g. 76 to 102 in O. lineoocellatum. Oligosoma prasinum sp. nov. seems to be less heavily built than the other species, in particular O. elium sp. nov. (Figures 2, 3, 4, 5). Description of Holotype. Habit lacertiform, body elongate, oval in cross-section; limbs well developed, pentadactyl. Lower eyelid with a transparent palpebral disc, bordered on sides and below by small, oblong granules. Snout moderately sharp. Nostril centred in lower middle of nasal, not touching bottom edge of nasal, pointing up and back. Supranasals absent. Rostral narrower than deep. Frontonasal broader than long, not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Frontal longer than broad, similar to frontoparietal and interparietal together, in contact with 2 anteriormost supraoculars. Supraoculars 4, 2nd largest. Preoculars, 2, upper one the larger. Frontoparietals distinct, larger than the interparietal. A pair of parietals meeting behind interparietal and bordered posteriorly by a pair of nuchals and temporals, also in contact with interparietal, frontoparietal, 4th supraocular, and 2 postoculars. Loreals 2, similar size; anterior loreal in contact with 1st and 2nd supralabial, posterior loreal, prefrontal, frontonasal, and nasal; posterior loreal in contact with 2nd and 3rd supralabial, 1st subocular, upper and lower preocular, prefrontal, and anterior loreal. Supralabials 7, 6th and 7th largest. Infralabials 6, several equally largest. Fifth supralabial below centre of the eye. Temporals: 1 primary; 2 secondary. Ear opening round, moderately large, with several small projecting granules on anterior margin. Suboculars 5, 2nd and 3rd separated by 5th supralabial. Mental broader but shallower than rostral. Postmental smaller than mental. Chinshields 3 pairs. Dorsal scales larger than ventral scales, weakly striate. Ventral scales and subdigital lamellae smooth. Adpressed limbs not meeting. Digits long, subcylindrical. Third front digit similar in length to 4th. Measurements (in mm; holotype with the variation shown in the specimens examined in parentheses). SVL 71.0 (mean 72.5, range 47.3–94.0), HL 11.3 (mean 11.0, range 7.7–13.1), HW 6.2 (mean 6.3, range 4.7–7.8), AG 34.7 (mean 38.2, range 24.8–55.8), SF 27.0 (mean 26.9, range 19.4–30.3), S-Ear 13.7 (mean 13.3, range 9.4– 16.0), EF 14.0 (mean 14.1, range 9.9–16.3), HLL 23.1 (mean 22.7, range 16.1–27.2). Variation (holotype with the variation shown in the paratypes in parentheses). Upper ciliaries 6 (mean 6, range 5–6); lower ciliaries 8 (mean 8, range 8–9); nuchals 3 pairs (mean 3 pair, range 2–4 pair); midbody scale rows 34 (mean 32, range 30–34); ventral scale rows 94 (mean 86, range 78–94); subdigital lamellae 28 (mean 25, range 23–28); supraciliaries 5 (mean 5, range 4–5); suboculars 5 (mean 5, range 4–6). Frontonasal never separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Anterior loreal usually in contact with first and second supralabial, posterior loreal usually in contact with second and third supralabial. Supralabials 7 (usual) or 8, the sixth or seventh the largest. Infralabials 5, 6 (usual) or 7. Projecting scales usually present in ear opening. Maximum SVL 94.0 mm. None of the specimens examined had an intact tail, however from records tail length of intact specimens ranged between 89–91 mm. Mean TL/SVL = 1.14. Ratios for morphological measurements (± SD): AG/SF 1.41 ± 0.18; S-Ear/EF 0.95 ± 0.06; HL/HW 1.77 ± 0.11 (N=10). Colouration. This is very variable among specimens, but the most common colouration is as follows: No middorsal stripe. Dorsal surface olive green, with regular light and dark flecking, 6 scale rows wide, grading into pale dorsolateral stripe extending from behind eye towards base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This pale stripe extends into brown lateral stripe three or more scale rows wide, running from behind eye to base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This brown band is speckled with light and dark along its length. Grading into a grey unmarked belly, sometimes with traces of pink. Soles of feet dark grey. Throat unmarked. Outer surface of forelimbs olive green, speckled with light and dark. Dorsal surface of tail either marked with dark speckling or (more usually) unmarked. They do not appear to be sexually dichromatic. Juvenile colouration similar to adult. Etymology. The specific name means “green” in Greek. It has been latinized. The accepted vernacular name is ‘Mackenzie skink’ (Bell 2014).

Oligosoma kokowai sp. nov. Figure 3a, b Holotype. Brothers Island (41° 07’S, 174° 26’E), NMNZ RE000305, female (coll. R. Dell, 11 Sep 1948) Paratypes (19 specimens). Brothers Island (41° 07’S, 174° 26’E), 3 specimens (NMNZ RE000307, female; NMNZ RE000308, immature; NMNZ RE000309, male) (coll. C. Lindsay, 11 Sep 1948); Stephens Island (40° 40’S, 174° 00’E), NMNZ RE000313, unknown (coll. C. Lindsay, 13 Sep 1948); Stephens Island - No 3 house (40’S, 174° 00’E), NMNZ RE005217, female (coll. M. Thompson, 0 6 Nov 1998); St Arnaud (41° 46’S, 172° 44’E), NMNZ RE003999 (S357), male (coll. B. Thomas, 20 Jul 1968); Aniseed valley, Roding River (41° 23’S, 173° 15’E), NMNZ RE006227, immature (coll. G. Patterson, 0 9 May 1984); St Arnaud (41° 46’S, 172° 44’E), 2 specimens (NMNZ RE004148 (S506), female; NMNZ RE004149 (S507), male) (coll. B. Thomas, 22 Oct 1969); Somes Island (41° 15’S, 174° 53’E), NMNZ RE000909, female (coll. D. Fairfax, 20 Jan 1958); Somes Island (41° 15’S, 174° 53’E), 2 specimens (NMNZ RE005262, female; NMNZ RE005263, male) (coll. K. Neil, Jan 1997); Martinborough (41° 13’S, 175° 27’E), NMNZ RE001009, female (coll. Hewett, Aug 1963); Napier (39° 29’S, 176° 55’E), 2 specimens (NMNZ RE003648 (S3), female; NMNZ RE003819 (S177), female) (coll. A. Whitaker, 17 Apr 1966); Cape Turakirae (41° 26’S, 174° 55’E), NMNZ RE004122 (S480), male (coll. A. Whitaker, 0 7 Aug 1969); Ward Island (41° 18’S, 174° 52’E), NMNZ RE005458, female (coll. R. Ainsworth, 0 7 Jan 1984); Turakirae Head, Lower Hutt (41° 26’S, 174° 55’E), NMNZ RE006226, male (coll. S. Keall, 12 Jan 1984); Napier (39° 32’S, 176° 55’E), NMNZ RE005320, female (coll. K. Hewitt, 12 Dec 2006). Diagnosis. Although Greaves et al. (2007) distinguished two subclades within this clade based on genetic variation, we could not find any significant morphological differences to warrant splitting them into two species. This species, O. kokowai, can be distinguished from other species in the O. lineoocellatum species complex by a combination of characters. The subdigital lamellae count is usually below 24, compared with O. prasinum and O. elium where it is usually above 24. All the specimens examined had one nuchal pair, in contrast with O. prasinum and O. lineoocellatum which always have more than 1 pair, and O. elium which usually has more than 1 pair. There are significant differences between O. kokowai and O. elium (lower ciliary count, AG/SF), O. lineoocellatum (lower ciliary count, SVL/HW), and O. prasinum (midbody scale count) (Figure 6b). Dorsal ocelli continue down tail unlike in many specimens of O. prasinum and O. elium. Pale dorsolateral stripes are usually much more pronounced than in O. prasinum. The ventral surface is often bright red-orange, unlike any of the other three species. Description of Holotype. Habit lacertiform, body elongate, oval in cross-section; limbs well developed, pentadactyl. Lower eyelid with a transparent palpebral disc, bordered on sides and below by small, oblong granules. Snout moderately blunt. Nostril centred in lower middle of nasal, not touching bottom edge of nasal, pointing up and back. Supranasals absent. Rostral narrower than deep. Frontonasal broader than long, not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Frontal longer than broad, shorter than frontoparietal and interparietal together, in contact with 2 anteriormost supraoculars. Supraoculars 4, 2nd largest. Preoculars, 2, upper one the larger. Frontoparietals distinct, larger than the interparietal. A pair of parietals meeting behind interparietal and bordered posteriorly by a pair of nuchals and temporals, also in contact with interparietal, frontoparietal, 4th supraocular, and 2 postoculars. Loreals 2, anterior one the larger; anterior loreal in contact with 1st and 2nd supralabial, posterior loreal, prefrontal, frontonasal, and nasal; posterior loreal in contact with 2nd and 3rd supralabial, 1st subocular, upper and lower preocular, prefrontal, and anterior loreal. Supralabials 7, 6th largest. Infralabials 6, 5th largest. Fifth supralabial below centre of the eye. Temporals: 1 primary; 2 secondary. Ear opening round, moderately large, lacking projecting granules on anterior margin. Suboculars 5, 2nd and 3rd separated by 5th supralabial. Mental broader but shallower than rostral. Postmental larger than mental. Chinshields 3 pairs. Dorsal scales similar in size to ventral scales, weakly striate. Ventral scales and subdigital lamellae smooth. Adpressed limbs not meeting. Digits moderately long, subcylindrical. Third front digit similar in length to 4th. Measurements (in mm; holotype with the variation shown in the specimens examined in parentheses). SVL 81.1 (mean 73.1, range 35.4–90.3), HL 11.5 (mean 11.5, range 6.9–13.3), HW 6.7 (mean 6.4, range 3.6–7.8), AG 44.8 (mean 40.1, range 16.1–50.2), SF 29.0 (mean 27.1, range 15.0–32.1), S-Ear 14.1 (mean 13.9, range 7.8– 16.8), EF 15.0 (mean 14.1, range 7.8–17.3), HLL 24.1 (mean 23.7, range 12.0–28.0). Variation (holotype with the variation shown in the paratypes in parentheses). Upper ciliaries 7 (mean 6, range 5–8); lower ciliaries 9 (mean 8, range 5–10); nuchals 1 pair (mean 1 pair, range 1–1 pair); midbody scale rows 34 (mean 34, range 32–37); ventral scale rows 94 (mean 84, range 74–97); subdigital lamellae 24 (mean 23, range 21–24); supraciliaries 5 (mean 5, range 4–5); suboculars 5 (mean 5, range 4–5). Frontonasal seldom separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Anterior loreal usually in contact with first and second supralabial, posterior loreal always in contact with second and third supralabial. Supralabials 7 (usual) or 8, the sixth or seventh the largest. Infralabials 6 (usual) or 7. Projecting scales usually present in ear opening. Maximum SVL 90.3 mm. Only 4 of the specimens examined had an intact tail, tail length of intact specimens ranging between 66–95 mm. Mean TL/SVL = 1.11. Ratios for morphological measurements (± SD): AG/SF 1.47 ± 0.16; S-Ear/EF 0.99 ± 0.08; HL/HW 1.81 ± 0.09 (N=20). Colouration. This is variable among specimens, but the most common colouration is as follows: No middorsal stripe. Dorsal surface olive green, with regular light and dark flecking, 6 scale rows wide, grading into pale dorsolateral stripe extending from behind eye to base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This pale stripe extends into dark brown lateral stripe three or four scale rows wide, running from behind nostril through eye to base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This brown band is speckled with light and dark along its length and bordered below by another pale band that breaks up into irregular cream and dark brown mottling. Grading into a grey or red-orange unmarked belly. Soles of feet grey. Throat usually unmarked. Outer surface of forelimbs olive green, speckled with light and dark. Colouration can be variable, O. kokowai in Nelson can be everything from pale, almost straw-brown to mid-dark brown to olive to bright or even dark green dorsally (T. Jewell, pers. comm.). They do not appear to be sexually dichromatic. Juveniles have a brown base colour and lack the characteristic green shading of adults. Etymology. McCann (1955) gave the specific name “ festivum ” to the holotype. However, this name is no longer valid. Another skink species from New Caledonia was also described in Leiolopisma by Jean Roux (1913). Roux's taxon was described as Lygosoma (Liolepisma) austro-caledonicum festivum, while McCann's was described as Leiolepisma festivum. Because they were first both described in the same genus/subgenus (Liolepisma being a misspelling of Leiolepisma, and subgenera being treated as equivalent to genera by the Code of Zoological Nomenclature), they are primary homonyms, and the junior homonym is permanently unavailable [Glenn Shea, pers. comm.] This also applies to Wells & Wellington’s (1985) resurrection of McCann’s species name. The specific name is from the Maori kōkōwai, meaning red or auburn and refers to the colour of the ventral surface of this skink. The current accepted vernacular name is ‘spotted skink’ (Bell 2014) but we propose changing it to ‘northern spotted skink’ to distinguish it from the other species in this complex.

Oligosoma elium sp. nov. Figure 4a, b Oligosoma aff. lineoocellatum ���South Marlborough��� HITCHMOUGH, R., BULL, L. & CROMARTY, P. 2007; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2010; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2013; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2016 b Holotype. Motunau Island, Canterbury (43�� 04���S, 173�� 04���E), NMNZ RE003737 (S 92), female (coll. A. Whitaker, 20 Feb 1967). Paratypes (9 specimens). Motunau Island, Canterbury (43�� 04���S, 173�� 04���E), 2 specimens (NMNZ RE001745 (2/2/8.33), female; NMNZ RE001745 (2/2/8.34), male) (coll. A. Whitaker, unknown date); Motunau Island, Canterbury (43�� 04���S, 173�� 04���E), 3 specimens (NMNZ RE003736 (S 91), male; NMNZ RE003738 (S 93), male; NMNZ RE003820 (S 178), male) (coll. A. Whitaker, 20 Feb 1967); Waipapa Bay (42�� 15���S, 173�� 49���E), NMNZ RE004192 (S550), female (coll. A. Whitaker, 0 3 Dec 1969); Montrose Stream, Waiau River (42�� 46���S, 172�� 43���E), NMNZ RE004191 (S549), male (coll. A. Whitaker, 27 Nov 1969); Jack Taylor���s farm, Ward (41�� 48���S, 174�� 03���E), NMNZ RE005463, OR (coll. R. Ainsworth, 0 8 Feb 1988). Diagnosis. Oligosoma elium can be distinguished from other species in the O. lineoocellatum species complex by a combination of characters. The subdigital lamellae count is usually above 24, compared with O. kokowai sp. nov. and O. lineoocellatum where it is usually below 24. There are significant differences between O. elium sp. nov. and O. kokowai sp. nov. (lower ciliary count, AG/SF), O. lineoocellatum (midbody scales), and O. prasinum sp. nov. (midbody scales, upper ciliary count) (Figure 6 a-e). Adpressed limbs always meet in O. elium sp. nov., whereas in O. lineoocellatum they usually do not. In O. elium sp. nov. the lateral brown stripe is 2 or 3 scale rows wide, whereas in the other species it is 3 or 4 scale rows wide. The pale dorsolateral strip is pronounced, particularly anteriorly, compared with O. prasinum sp. nov. where this stripe is usually indistinct. Description of Holotype. Habit lacertiform, body elongate, oval in cross-section; limbs well developed, pentadactyl. Lower eyelid with a transparent palpebral disc, bordered on sides and below by small, oblong granules. Snout moderately sharp. Nostril centred in lower middle of nasal, not touching bottom edge of nasal, pointing up and back. Supranasals absent. Rostral narrower than deep. Frontonasal broader than long, not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Frontal longer than broad, similar in length to frontoparietal and interparietal together, in contact with 2 anteriormost supraoculars. Supraoculars 4, 2nd largest. Preoculars, 2, upper one the larger. Frontoparietals distinct, larger than the interparietal. A pair of parietals meeting behind interparietal and bordered posteriorly by a pair of nuchals and temporals, also in contact with interparietal, frontoparietal, 4th supraocular, and 2 postoculars. Loreals 2, anterior one the larger; anterior loreal in contact with 1st and 2nd supralabial, posterior loreal, prefrontal, frontonasal, and nasal; posterior loreal in contact with 2nd and 3rd supralabial, 1st subocular, upper preocular, prefrontal, and anterior loreal. Supralabials 7, 5th largest. Infralabials 6, several equally largest. Fifth supralabial below centre of the eye. Temporals: 1 primary; 2 secondary. Ear opening round, moderately large, with no projecting granules on anterior margin. Suboculars 4, 2nd and 3rd separated by 5th supralabial. Mental broader but shallower than rostral. Postmental larger than mental. Chinshields 3 pairs. Dorsal scales similar in size to ventral scales, weakly striate. Ventral scales and subdigital lamellae smooth. Adpressed limbs barely meeting. Digits long, subcylindrical. Third front digit similar in length to 4th. Measurements (in mm; holotype with the variation shown in the specimens examined in parentheses). SVL 78.3 (mean 78.8, range 67.0���89.2), HL 12.3 (mean 12.2, range 10.6���13.6), HW 6.5 (mean 6.9, range 5.8���7.7), AG 41.6 (mean 40.4, range 32.1���49.3), SF 29.3 (mean 29.5, range 25.7���33.4), S-Ear 14.9 (mean 15.2, range 12.8��� 16.9), EF 15.8 (mean 15.6, range 13.1���18.4), HLL 26.4 (mean 26.4, range 22.9���29.0). Variation (holotype with the variation shown in the paratypes in parentheses). Upper ciliaries 7 (mean 7, range 6���8); lower ciliaries 8 (mean 9, range 7���10); nuchals 5 pairs (mean 2 pairs, range 1���5 pairs); midbody scale rows 34 (mean 34, range 34���36); ventral scale rows 97 (mean 85, range 76���97); subdigital lamellae 24 (mean 25, range 23���29); supraciliaries 5 (mean 5, range 5���5); suboculars 4 (mean 4, range 4���4). Frontonasal never separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Anterior loreal always in contact with first and second supralabial, posterior loreal always in contact with second and third supralabial. Supralabials 7, fifth or sixth (usual) the largest. Infralabials 6 (usual) or 7. Projecting scales often present in ear opening. Maximum SVL 89.2 mm. Three of the specimens examined had an intact tail, tail length of intact specimens ranging between 84 - 99 mm. Mean TL/SVL = 1.18. Ratios for morphological measurements (�� SD): AG/SF 1.36 �� 0.17; S-Ear/EF 0.98 �� 0.06; HL/HW 1.77 �� 0.07 (N=9). Colouration. This is quite variable among specimens, but the most common colouration is as follows: Middorsal stripe lacking. Dorsal surface pale green, usually with light and dark flecking (ocelli), 5-6 scale rows wide, bordered by cream dorsolateral stripe 2 scale rows wide extending from behind head to base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This pale stripe bordered below by a brown lateral stripe two or three scale rows wide, notched on upper and lower edges, running from behind eye towards tip of tail. This brown band is heavily flecked with white and often bordered below by another pale band that breaks up into irregular cream and dark brown mottling. Ventral region occasionally suffused with pink, except on the throat which is pale. Soles of feet light grey/cream. Outer surface of forelimbs speckled with light and dark, sometimes orange and green. Tail may be either marked or unmarked. Throat and vent sometimes speckled, occasionally heavily. They do not appear to be sexually dichromatic. Juvenile colouration similar to adult. Etymology. The specific name means ���olive��� in Greek. The accepted vernacular name is ���Marlborough spotted skink��� (Bell 2014)., Published as part of Melzer, Sabine, Bell, Trent & Patterson, Geoff B., 2017, Hidden conservation vulnerability within a cryptic species complex: taxonomic revision of the spotted skink (Oligosoma lineoocellatum; Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Zealand, pp. 355-379 in Zootaxa 4300 (3) on pages 365-366, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4300.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/839470

Oligosoma lineoocellatum (Duméril & Duméril 1851) Figure 2a, b Synonyms Lygosoma lineo-ocellatum DUMÉRIL & DUMÉRIL 1851; BOULENGER 1887; (Liolepisma: Duméril & Duméril): WERNER 1895, 1901; HUTTON & DRUMMOND 1904; HUTTON 1904; LYDEKKER 1911; MARTIN 1929; (Leiolopisma: Duméril & Duméril): SMITH 1937; McCANN 1955 Lygosoma lineoocellatum (Mocoa: Duméril & Duméril): PETERS 1873; (Duméril & Duméril): WERNER 1901 Mocoa zealandica (Gray): GUNTHER 1875 Liolepisma lineo-ocellatum (Duméril & Duméril): LUCAS & FROST 1897 Leiolopisma lineo-ocellata (Duméril & Duméril): MITTLEMAN 1952 Leiolopisma lineo-ocellatum (Duméril & Duméril): McCANN 1955 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): McCANN 1956 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): WHITAKER 1967; (Duméril & Duméril): FORSTER & FORSTER 1970 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): WHITAKER 1970 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): FORSTER & FORSTER 1971 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): TOWNS 1971a (part); (Duméril & Duméril): TOWNS 1971b (part); (Duméril & Duméril): SCHIPPER 1972; (Duméril & Duméril): ROBB 1974 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): BULL & WHITAKER 1975; (Duméril & Duméril): THOMAS 1976 Leiolopisma grande grande (Gray): McCANN 1955; (Gray): McCANN 1956; (Gray): ROBB 1974 Leiolopisma festivum McCANN 1955; McCANN 1956; SCHIPPER 1972; GREER 1974; ROBB 1974 Leiolopisma lineo-occelatum (Duméril & Duméril): COX et al. 1967 Leiolopisma lineoocellatum (Duméril & Duméril): GREER 1970 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): SCHIPPER 1972; (Duméril & Duméril): GREER 1974; (Duméril & Duméril): BULL & WHITAKER 1975; (Duméril & Duméril): GILL 1976 (part); (Duméril & Duméril): O'CONNOR 1976; (Duméril & Duméril): WHITAKER 1976; (Duméril & Duméril): HARDY 1977 Leiolopisma infrapunctatum (Boulenger): ROBB 1974 Oligosoma lineoocellatum GREAVES et al. 2007; CHAPPLE et al. 2009 Oligosoma aff. lineoocellatum “central Canterbury” HITCHMOUGH, R., BULL, L. & CROMARTY, P. 2007; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2010; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2013; HITCHMOUGH et al. 2016 b Comments. Hardy (1977) listed four specimens as syntypes, rather than nominating a holotype of O. lineoocellatum. When a species is described based on a name-bearing type consisting of multiple specimens, one of those may be designated as the lectotype. A lectotype is the single specimen selected from among the syntypes to serve as the only name-bearing type specimen, and is formally designated as such. We have followed this practice in our paper. Lectotype. NZ (locality unknown), MNHN 1991:2731 [5053A], unknown, (coll. M. Arnoux & M. Belligny, date unknown). Paralectotypes. NZ (locality unknown), 3 specimens (MNHN 5475, unknown; MNHN 2007.2418 [5475A], unknown; MNHN 5053, unknown) (coll. M. Arnoux & M. Belligny, date unknown). Specimens were loaned to Te Papa, National Museum of New Zealand (NMNZ; Wellington) by the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN; Paris) for examination. Paratypes (8 specimens). Birdlings Flat (43° 50’S, 172° 42’E), 2 specimens (NMNZ RE001740 (2/2/8.2), male; NMNZ RE001740 (2/2/8.3), immature) (coll. G. Hardy, unknown date); Lake Ellesmere area (43° 32’S, 172° 32’E), NMNZ RE002035, male (coll. D. Newman, unknown date); Birdlings Flat (43° 50’S, 172° 42’E), 4 specimens (NMNZ RE003712 (S67), unknown; NMNZ RE003713 (S68), female; NMNZ RE003714 (S69), female; NMNZ RE003715 (S70), female (coll. A. Whitaker, 1960); Mt Somers (43° 45’S, 171° 18’E), NMNZ RE005456, female (coll. C. Daugherty, 11 Jan 1985). Diagnosis. In general, members of the O. lineoocellatum species complex can be distinguished from other similar sympatric species by colour pattern and scale counts. The dorsal green or brown ground colour speckled with black and white ocelli resembles only O. chloronoton. However, all O. lineoocellatum complex species have either two anterior subocular scales, or three where the third is much reduced in size compared with the first two. All O. chloronoton complex species in contrast have three similarly sized anterior suboculars. The subdigital lamellae count in O. chloronoton is usually less than 22, whereas in O. lineoocellatum it is usually greater than 22. Oligosoma lineoocellatum can be distinguished from other species in the O. lineoocellatum species complex by a combination of characters. The adpressed limbs often do not meet (7 out of 12 specimens), whereas they usually meet in O. prasinum sp. nov., and always meet in O. elium sp. nov. The subdigital lamellae count is usually below 24, compared with O. prasinum and O. elium where it is usually above 24. Dorsal ocelli continue down the tail unlike in many specimens of O. prasinum and O. elium. Pale dorsolateral stripes are usually much more pronounced than in O. prasinum. The ear width in O. lineoocellatum relative to SVL is approximately 50% greater than in O. prasinum. O. lineoocellatum will occasionally have three anterior suboculars, where the other species will always have two. There are significant differences in SVL/HW between O. lineoocellatum and O. kokowai sp. nov. , as well as O. lineoocellatum and O. prasinum (Figure 6a). Description of Lectotype. Habit lacertiform, body elongate, oval in cross-section; limbs well developed, pentadactyl. Lower eyelid with a transparent palpebral disc, bordered on sides and below by small, oblong granules. Snout moderately blunt. Nostril centred in lower middle of nasal, not touching bottom edge of nasal, pointing up and back. Supranasals absent. Rostral narrower than deep. Frontonasal broader than long, not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Frontal longer than broad, shorter than frontoparietal and interparietal together, in contact with 2 anteriormost supraoculars. Supraoculars 4, 2nd largest. Preoculars, 2, upper one the larger. Frontoparietals distinct, larger than the interparietal. A pair of parietals meeting behind interparietal and bordered posteriorly by a pair of nuchals and temporals, also in contact with interparietal, frontoparietal, 4th supraocular, and 2 postoculars. Loreals 2, anterior one the larger; anterior loreal in contact with 1st and 2nd supralabial, posterior loreal, prefrontal, frontonasal, and nasal; posterior loreal in contact with 2nd and 3rd supralabial, 1st subocular, upper and lower preocular, prefrontal, and anterior loreal. Supralabials 7, 6th largest. Infralabials 6, several equally largest. Fifth supralabial below centre of the eye. Temporals: 1 primary; 2 secondary. Ear opening round, moderately large, with several small projecting granules on anterior margin. Suboculars 7, 3rd and 4th separated by 5th supralabial. Mental broader but shallower than rostral. Postmental larger than mental. Chinshields 3 pairs. Dorsal scales similar in size to ventral scales, weakly striate. Ventral scales and subdigital lamellae smooth. Adpressed limbs not meeting. Digits moderately long, subcylindrical. Third front digit similar in length to 4th. Measurements (in mm; Lectotype with the variation shown in the specimens examined in parentheses). SVL 63.9 (mean 78.3, range 52.2–107.3), HL 10.0 (mean 12.3, range 9.0–15.3), HW 6.4 (mean 7.1, range 5.0–8.7), AG 32.5 (mean 41.4, range 25.7–58.4), SF 25.3 (mean 29.7, range 19.5–37.1), S-Ear 11.8 (mean 14.7, range 9.9– 18.7), EF 13.4 (mean 16.0, range 10.3–20.0), HLL 21.5 (mean 24.7, range 16.6–32.3). Variation (lectotype with the variation shown in the paratypes / paralectotypes in parentheses). Upper ciliaries 7 (mean 6, range 5–8); lower ciliaries 9 (mean 9, range 7–10); nuchals 3 pairs (mean 3 pairs, range 2–4 pairs); midbody scale rows 34 (mean 32, range 31–34); ventral scale rows 90 (mean 88, range 76–102); subdigital lamellae 23 (mean 23, range 21–25); supraciliaries 5 (mean 5, range 5–5); suboculars 6 (mean 5, range 5–6). Frontonasal not separated from frontal by prefrontals meeting in midline. Anterior loreal always in contact with first and second supralabial, posterior loreal always in contact with second and third supralabial. Supralabials 7, the sixth or seventh the largest. Infralabials 6 (usual), or 7. Projecting scales usually present in ear opening. Maximum SVL 107.3 mm. Only 4 of the specimens examined had an intact tail, tail length of intact specimens ranging between 72–120.5 mm. Mean TL/SVL = 1.17. Ratios for morphological measurements (± SD): AG/SF 1.38 ± 0.11; S-Ear/EF 0.92 ± 0.05; HL/HW 1.74 ± 0.09 (N=12). Colouration. This is quite variable among specimens, but the most common colouration is as follows: Middorsal stripe lacking. Dorsal surface olive green, usually with light and dark flecking (ocelli), 5–6 scale rows wide, bordered by pale dorsolateral stripe 2 half-scale rows wide extending from above eyes to base of tail, becoming indistinct thereafter. This pale stripe bordered below by a brown lateral stripe four or more scale rows wide, notched on upper and lower edges, running from in front of eye towards tip of tail. This brown band is heavily flecked with white and bordered below by another pale band that breaks up into irregular cream and dark brown mottling. Ventral region often suffused with pink or orange, except on the throat which is pale with dark speckling. Soles of feet grey/cream. Outer surface of forelimbs speckled with light and dark, sometimes orange and green. Ocelli extend along dorsal surface of tail almost to tip. They do not appear to be sexually dichromatic. Juvenile colouration similar to adult. [colour from photos] Etymology. The specific latin name refers to the rows of eye-like spots (ocelli) on the dorsal surface. The accepted vernacular name is ‘ Canterbury spotted skink’ (Bell 2014)., Published as part of Melzer, Sabine, Bell, Trent & Patterson, Geoff B., 2017, Hidden conservation vulnerability within a cryptic species complex: taxonomic revision of the spotted skink (Oligosoma lineoocellatum; Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Zealand, pp. 355-379 in Zootaxa 4300 (3) on pages 357-361, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4300.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/839470, {"references":["Dumeril, C. & Dumeril, A. (1851) Catalogue methodique de la collection des reptiles. Gide and Baudry, Paris, 124 pp.","Boulenger, G. A. (1887) Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Fol. 3. Taylor and Francis, London, 575 pp.","Werner, F. (1895) Zwei neue australische Lygosoma - arten. 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Melzer, Sabine, Bell, Trent, Patterson, Geoff B. (2017): Hidden conservation vulnerability within a cryptic species complex: taxonomic revision of the spotted skink (Oligosoma lineoocellatum; Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Zealand. Zootaxa 4300 (3): 355-379, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4300.3.2