Phylogenetic position, morphology and natural history of the Vietnamese water skink Tropidophorus noggei Ziegler, Vu & Bui, 2005 (Sauria: Scincidae)

Abstract

The depressed-bodied water skink species Tropidophorus noggei was recently described from Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, a karst forest region in the Truong Son, central Vietnam. Subsequent field research at the type locality led to the finding of additional specimens which allowed to extend the knowledge about the species' morphology including hemipenis morphology. The molecular positioning of the species within Tropidophorus supports that the body depression recognized in several Indochinese taxa is likely to have occurred at least twice in parallel as an adaptation to saxicolous habitats. New insights into the natural history of Tropidophorus noggei are given, including habitat choice, abundance, activity and habits, as well as the species' feeding and reproductive ecology.