A preliminary report on the reptile fauna of the Kingdom of Bhutan with the description of a new species of scincid lizard (Reptilia: Scincidae)

Abstract

The herpetofauna of the Kingdom of Bhutan has been poorly studied and few collections of Bhutanese reptiles have been made. Reptiles collected by the 1972 expedition of the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel (Switzerland) are presented as a basis for a preliminary species list for this eastern Himalayan country. Specimens representing seven families and 18 species were examined. Included is a new species of scincid lizard of the genus Mabuya. An additional five species have been reported from Bhutan and numerous other taxa are known from adjacent regions of Sikkim and Assam. Most of the fauna is pan-oriental in derivation and is widespread to the east, west, and south. A number of species, however, are primarily Indo-Chinese in their affinities and extended only as far west as Nepal. Collections from eastern Bhutan and from elevations over 1500 m are particularly small and additional field work will be required to provide a complete picture of the reptiles of the country.