A new species of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Guizhou Province, southwest China

9 A new species of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Guizhou Province, southwest China Yuhao Xu1, Zhonghao Gong1, Tan Van Nguyen2,3 , Jundong Deng1, Andrey M. Bragin4, Shiyang Weng5, Tierui Zhang6, Nikolay A. Poyarkov7, Lifang Peng1 1 State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China 2 The School of Medicine & Pharmacy, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam 3 Center for Entomology & Parasitology Research, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam 4 Joint Vietnam - Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Centre, 63 Nguyen Van Huyen Road, Nghia Do, Hanoi, Vietnam 5 Institute of Plateau Biology of Xizang Autonomous Region, Lhasa 850008, China 6 Anhui Province Key Laboratory of the Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resource, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, Anhui, China 7 Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory, GSP–1, Moscow 119991, Russia Corresponding authors: Lifang Peng ([email protected]); Tan Van Nguyen ([email protected]); Nikolay A. Poyarkov ([email protected]) Copyright: © Yuhao Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution 4.0 International – CC BY 4.0). Research Article Abstract A new species of the genus Scincella Mittleman is described from Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China, based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species, Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov., is diagnosed by the medium body size; tympanum diameter significantly larger than the palpebral disc; midbody scale rows 24; total ventral + gular scale rows numbering 61–66; toes nearly or just touching fingers when limbs are adpressed; 9 or 10 enlarged lamellae beneath finger IV, and 11 or 12 beneath toe IV; and the dark dorsolateral stripes narrow and wavy, covering 0.5–1 scale rows on the trunk, with four scale rows in between on the dorsum. Phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial 12S, 16S, and CO1 gene fragments indicate that the new species is most closely related to S. alia Bragin, Zenin, Nguyen & Poyarkov, but differs by an uncorrected p-distance of 8.6–8.8% in the CO1 gene. The discovery of the new species raises the number of currently recognized Scincella species to 51, underscoring the underestimated diversity of the genus. Key words: Molecular phylogeny, morphology, Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov., taxonomy Introduction The genus Scincella Mittleman, comprises small, terrestrial skinks distributed widely across regions from North America to South, East, and Southeast Asia (Ouboter 1986; Zhao et al. 1999; Uetz et al. 2025). Currently, 50 species of Scincella have been documented, including 16 species recorded from China, namely Scincella barbouri (Stejneger), S. chengduensis Jia, Gao, Wu, Wang, Liu, Liu, Jiang, Jiang, Ren & Li, S. doriae (Boulenger), S. fansipanensis Okabe, Motokawa, Koizumi, Nguyen, Nguyen & Bui; S. formosensis (Van Denburgh), S. huanrenensis Zhao & Huang, S. liangshanensis Jia, Gao, Wu, Ren, Jiang & Wu, S. modesta (Günther), S. monticola (Schmidt), S. potanini (Günther), Academic editor: Minh Duc Le Received: 6 June 2025 Accepted: 25 September 2025 Published: 3 November 2025 ZooBank: https://zoobank.org/ FA99E75A-D600-407E-92EF31EEEA9A3453 Citation: Xu Y, Gong Z, Nguyen TV, Deng J, Bragin AM, Weng S, Zhang T, Poyarkov NA, Peng L (2025) A new species of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Guizhou Province, southwest China. ZooKeys 1258: 9–33. https://doi.org/10.3897/ zookeys.1258.161382 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025) DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 10 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species S. przewalskii (Bedriaga), S. qianica Xu, Weng, Poyarkov, Zhang, Deng & Peng, S. reevesii (Gray), S. schmidti (Barbour), S. tsinlingensis (Hu & Zhao), and S. wangyuezhaoi Jia, Gao, Huang, Ren, Jiang & Li (Uetz et al. 2025; Xu et al. 2025a, b). This positions China as one of the major centers of diversity for the genus Scincella (Jia et al. 2024, 2025; Bragin et al. 2025a, b; Nguyen et al. 2025; Uetz et al. 2025). Morphologically, members of Scincella can be distinguished from other skinks by a unique combination of characters: a small and slender body, short limbs, absence of supranasals, lower eyelid with transparent or opaque disc, limbs pentadactyl, one row of lamellae under the basal digits, and the lower secondary temporal overlapping the upper one (Greer 1974; Greer and Shea 2003; Nguyen et al. 2010a). Species of this genus are highly adaptable and inhabit a wide range of environments, including forests, stream margins, hillsides, and arid valleys (Jia et al. 2023, 2024; Xu et al. 2025a, b). The recent application of integrative taxonomy, which combines molecular and morphological data, has significantly advanced our understanding of the genus Scincella, resulting in the description of more than twelve new species over the past five years (e.g., Nguyen et al. 2020; Koizumi et al. 2022; Jia et al. 2023, 2024; Okabe et al. 2024; Pham et al. 2024, 2025; Bragin et al. 2025a, b; Jia et al. 2025; Nguyen et al. 2025; Xu et al. 2025b). Despite these advances, several taxonomic challenges remain unresolved. The inter – and intraspecific relationships within widely distributed species such as S. doriae, S. melanosticta (Boulenger), S. monticola, S. modesta, and S. reevesii remain poorly understood. Furthermore, molecular data are still unavailable for several poorly known taxa, including S. barbouri, S. doriae, S. rara (Darevsky & Orlov), and S. schmidti. These knowledge gaps highlight the need for continued taxonomic and phylogenetic research on this morphologically conserved yet underestimated genus. During recent herpetological surveys conducted in Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China, we collected eight specimens of skinks. Subsequent morphological comparisons and molecular analyses revealed that these specimens belong to the genus Scincella but are clearly distinguishable from all known congeners. Accordingly, we describe this previously overlooked population as a new species of Scincella, based on an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological and genetic data. Materials and methods Sampling Eight specimens of Scincella sp. were collected in Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China (Fig. 1). All newly collected specimens were humanely euthanized using a lethal injection of 0.7% tricaine methanesulfonate (MS222) solution, then fixed and stored in 75% ethanol for long-term preservation. Fresh liver tissue was extracted and immediately preserved in 95% ethanol, and subsequently stored at –20 °C. All specimens were deposited in herpetological collection of the museum of Qinghai University, Qinghai Province, China (QHU). The related procedures complied with the Wildlife Protection Law of China and were approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Qinghai University (protocol number PJ202501-89). 11 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Molecular phylogeny Since all specimens were collected from the same locality and show consistent morphological traits, we randomly selected five individuals for DNA sequencing. Total genomic DNA was extracted from preserved liver tissue using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Changsheng Biotechnology Co. Ltd). Three mitochondrial gene fragments were amplified: 12S ribosomal RNA (12S) using the primer pair L1091-F (5’-AAACTGGGATTAGATACCCCACTAT-3’) and H1478-R (5’-GAGGGTGACGGGCGGTGTGT-3’) (Kocher et al. 1989); 16S ribosomal RNA (16S) using 16SLF (5’-TGTTTACCAAAAACATAGCCTTTAGC-3’) and 16SL-R (5’-TAGATAGAAACCGACCTGGATT-3’) (Linkem et al. 2011); and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CO1) using RepCOI-F (5’-TNTTMTCAACNAACCACAAAGA-3’) and RepCOI-R (5’-ACTTCTGGRTGKCCAAARAATCA-3’) (Nagy et al. 2012). The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed in 25 μl reactions with the following cycling conditions: first an initial denaturing step at 95 °C for 5 min; then 35 cycles of denaturing at 95 °C for 40 s, annealing at 53 °C for 40 s and extending at 72 °C for 60 s; last a final extending step at 72 °C for 10 min. The PCR products were sequenced by Shanghai Map Biotech Co., Ltd. Raw sequences were assembled using SeqMan in the DNASTAR software package (Burland 2000). All resulting sequences have been deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers: PV640454–PV640458 (12S), PV640464–PV640468 (16S), and PV640489–PV640493 (CO1) (Table 1). Figure 1. Distribution of Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. and its closest relatives. Stars indicate the type localities, and circles indicate the other known localities. Red star: Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov.; blue star and circle: S. alia; pink star and circle: S. chengduensis; yellow star: S. fansipanensis; white star and circles: S. liangshanensis; orange star and circles: S. monticola; grey star: S. potanini; black star: S. truongi; and purple star and circle: S. qianica. 12 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Table 1. GenBank accession numbers, localities, and voucher information for all specimens used in this study. Species name Locality Voucher NO. 12S 16S CO1 References 1Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. Qixingguan, Bijie, Guizhou, China QHU R2025008 PV640454 PV640464 PV640489 This study 2Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. Qixingguan, Bijie, Guizhou, China QHU R2025009 PV640455 PV640465 PV640490 This study 3Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. Qixingguan, Bijie, Guizhou, China QHU R2025010 PV640456 PV640466 PV640491 This study 4Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. Qixingguan, Bijie, Guizhou, China QHU R2025011 PV640457 PV640467 PV640492 This study 5Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. Qixingguan, Bijie, Guizhou, China QHU R2025012 PV640458 PV640468 PV640493 This study 6S. alia Mt. Tay Con Linh, Tuyen Quang, Vietnam VRTC NAP14081 – – PV085567 Bragin et al. (2025a) 7S. alia Mt. Tay Con Linh, Tuyen Quang, Vietnam ZMMU Re-18153 PV088911 PV088913 PV085569 Bragin et al. (2025a) 8S. assata Finca El Milagro, Santa Ana, El Salvador KU 289795 JF497946 JF498074 –Linkem et al. (2011) 9S. assata Canton El Volcan, San Miguel, El Salvador KU 291286 –JF498075 –Linkem et al. (2011) 10 S. auranticaudata Ta Kou NR, Lam Dong, Vietnam ITBCZ 6527 – – PV022548 Nguyen et al. (2025) 11 S. auranticaudata Ta Kou NR, Lam Dong, Vietnam ITBCZ 7620 – – PV022549 Nguyen et al. (2025) 12 S. badenensis Mt. Ba Den, Tay Ninh, Vietnam ITBCZ 5966 – – MK990602 Nguyen et al. (2019) 13 S. badenensis Mt. Ba Den, Tay Ninh, Vietnam ITBCZ 5993 – – MK990603 Nguyen et al. (2019) 14 S. balluca Bidoup-Nui Ba NP, Lam Dong, Vietnam ZMMU R-13268NAP-00412 – – MH119616 Bragin et al. (2025b) 15 S. balluca Bidoup-Nui Ba NP, Lam Dong, Vietnam ZMMU R-13268NAP-01062 – – MH119617 Bragin et al. (2025b) 16 S. baraensis Mt. Ba Ra, Dong Nai, Vietnam ITBCZ 6534 – – MT742256 Nguyen et al. (2020) 17 S. baraensis Mt. Ba Ra, Dong Nai, Vietnam ITBCZ 6536 – – MT742258 Nguyen et al. (2020) 18 S. boettgeri Yaeyama Group, Ryukyus, Japan KUZ R68001 – – LC630768 Koizumi et al. (2022) 19 S. boettgeri Yaeyama Group, Ryukyus, Japan KUZ R68008 – – LC630770 Koizumi et al. (2022) 20 S. chengduensis Dayi, Sichuan, China CIB 107637 PQ466924 PQ466921 PQ467109 Jia et al. (2025) 21 S. chengduensis Chongzhou, Sichuan, China CIB 118786 PQ466923 PQ466920 PQ467108 Jia et al. (2025) 22 S. cherriei Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, Mexico RCMX 219 –MW265931 –Castiglia et al. (2020) 23 S. cherriei Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, Mexico RCMX 235 –MW265932 –Castiglia et al. (2020) 24 S. devorator Ba Vi NP, Ha Noi, Vietnam ZMMU NAP07169 PV088910 PV088912 PV085573 Bragin et al. (2025a) 25 S. dunan Yonagunijima Is., Southern Ryukyus, Japan KUZ R65170 – – LC630778 Koizumi et al. (2022) 26 S. dunan Yonagunijima Is., Southern Ryukyus, Japan KUZ R67027 – – LC630779 Koizumi et al. (2022) 27 S. fansipanensis Mt. Fansipan, Lao Cai, Vietnam IEBR R.5185 – – LC846671 Okabe et al. (2024) 28 S. fansipanensis Mt. Fansipan, Lao Cai, Vietnam IEBR R.5187 – – LC846672 Okabe et al. (2024) 29 S. formosensis Taiwan, China KUZ R37515 – – LC630789 Koizumi et al. (2022) 30 S. formosensis Taiwan, China KUZ R37516 – – LC630790 Koizumi et al. (2022) 31 S. gemmingeri Teocelo, Mexico LSUMZ H-14810 AY308294 AY308445 – – 32 S. honbaensis Hon Ba NR, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam ITBCZ 4679 – – PV022547 Nguyen et al. (2025) 33 S. huanrenensis Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea G390SH KU507306 KU507306 KU507306 Park et al. (2016) 34 S. huanrenensis Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea –NC030779 NC030779 NC030779 Park et al. (2016) 35 S. lateralis Texas, USA DCC 2842 HM852476 HM852503 –Reeder and Reichert (2011) 36 S. lateralis Texas, USA KU 289460 JF497948 JF498077 –Linkem et al. (2011) 37 S. liangshanensis Meigu, Sichuan, China CIB 119513 PP826317 PP826315 PP824806 Jia et al. (2024) 38 S. liangshanensis Meigu, Sichuan, China CIB 119514 PP826318 PP826314 PP824804 Jia et al. (2024) 39 S. liangshanensis Yuexi, Sichuan, China XM-YXS80 PP826316 PP826313 PP824805 Jia et al. (2024) 40 S. melanosticta Kon Chu Rang NR, Gia Lai, Vietnam ZMMU NAP-05519 – – MH119621 Neang et al. (2018) 41 S. melanosticta Kon Chu Rang NR, Gia Lai, Vietnam ZMMU NAP-06376 – – MH119622 Neang et al. (2018) 42 S. modesta Ningbo, Zhejiang, China CIB 121415 PP819198 PP819195 PP819217 Jia et al. (2024) 43 S. modesta Ningbo, Zhejiang, China WYF 11520 PP819197 –PP819215 Jia et al. (2024) 44 S. monticola Shangri-La, Yunnan, China DL-YNJC 2020824 OP955952 OP955962 –Jia et al. (2023) 45 S. nigrofasciata Keo Seima WS, Mondulkiri, Cambodia CBC 2545 – – MH119613 Neang et al. (2018) 46 S. nigrofasciata Dak Nong UNESCO Global GeoparkNR, Lam Dong, Vietnam ITBCZ 11028 – – PQ634873 Nguyen et al. (2024) 47 S. ouboteri Ngoc Son-Ngo Luong NR, Phu Tho, Vietnam IEBR R.5042 – – OP927026 Pham et al. (2024) 48 S. ouboteri Ngoc Son-Ngo Luong NR, Phu Tho, Vietnam IEBR R.5043 – – OP927027 Pham et al. (2024) 49 S. ochracea Sop Cop NR, Son La, Vietnam TBU PAT.254 – – OP927028 Pham et al. (2024) 50 S. potanini Kangding, Sichuan, China DL KD202109071 OP942203 OP935937 OP942210 Jia et al. (2023) 51 S. potanini Kangding, Sichuan, China DL KD202109072 OP942208 OP935987 OP942209 Jia et al. (2023) 13 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species In addition to newly obtained sequences, we included 100 sequences from 57 individuals representing 31 nominal Scincella species (Table 1), and selected Sphenomorphus cryptotis Darevsky, Orlov & Cuc as the outgroup (following Jia et al. 2023). Three gene fragments, comprising 384 base pairs (bp) of 12S, 542 bp of 16S, and 659 bp of CO1, were concatenated into a combined dataset (comprising 1585 bp in total). Sequence alignment was performed using MUSCLE (Edgar 2004) in MEGA X (Kumar et al. 2018). The Maximum Likelihood (ML) analysis was conducted in IQ-TREE v. 1.6.12 (Nguyen et al. 2015) using the best-fit model GTR + F + I + G4 for all three fragments (12S, 16S, and CO1), as determined by ModelFinder for IQ-TREE in PhyloSuite v. 1.2.3 according to Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) (Kalyaanamoorthy et al. 2017; Zhang et al. 2020). Nodes were considered well supported when the ultrafast bootstrap values (UFB) were above 95% and SH-like approximate likelihood ratio test values (SH-aLRT) were above 80% (Stephane et al. 2010; Hoang et al. 2018). The resulting phylogenetic tree was visualized in FigTree v. 1.4.4 (Rambaut 2018). Pairwise genetic distances (p-distances) for the CO1 gene between closely related species were also calculated in MEGA X using the uncorrected distance model. Morphological analyses Morphological data, including both meristic and morphometric characters, were described following the methodology of Bragin et al. (2025a), with certain character abbreviations revised according to the standards of Darko et al. (2022). Three morphometric characters were measured with Deli digital calipers (No. 90150B) to the nearest 0.1 mm: SVL = snout-vent length, measured from the tip of the snout to the posterior edge of vent; TAL = tail length, measured from the posterior margin of vent to the tip of tail; AGD = axilla-groin distance, defined as the distance between the posterior edge of the forelimb insertion and the anterior edge of the hindlimb insertion, with both limbs inserted perpendicularly to the body wall. All other measurements were taken using Mitutoyo digital calipers (CD-15AX) to the nearest 0.01 mm under Leica stereomicroscope (EZ4): HL = head length, measured from the tip of the snout to the caudal extremity of the retroarticular process of the mandible (a prominent point externally visible at the posterior end of the lower jaw); HW = head width, the widest portion between the left and right articulations of jaw; HH = head height, the deepest portion from ventral to dorsal surface of head; ED = eye diameter, the length of the palpebral cleft; EN = eye-narial Species name Locality Voucher NO. 12S 16S CO1 References 52 S. reevesii Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China NB 2017030715 NC054206 NC054206 NC054206 Zhong et al. (2021) 53 S. reevesii Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China –MN832615 MN832615 MN832615 Zhong et al. (2021) 54 S. qianica Guiyang, Guizhou, China QHU R2025001 PV527316 PV527321 PV527759 This study 55 S. qianica Guiyang, Guizhou, China QHU R2025002 PV527317 PV527322 PV527760 This study 56 S. cf. rufocaudata Ke Go NR, Ha Tinh, Vietnam ZFMK 76238 –HM773216 –Nguyen et al. (2011) 57 S. cf. rufocaudata Ke Go NR, Ha Tinh, Vietnam ZFMK 76239 –HM773217 –Nguyen et al. (2011) 58 S. rupicola Thailand KUZ 40458 AB057388 AB057403 –Honda et al. (2003) 59 S. vandenburghi Tsushima Island, Japan KUZ R66394 – – LC507695 Koizumi et al. (2021) 60 S. vandenburghi Yeongwol-gun, Korea G389SV KU646826 KU646826 KU646826 Park et al. (2016) 61 S. wangyuezhaoi Wenchuan, Sichuan, China CIB 87246 OP942191 OP941172 OQ402205 Jia et al. (2023) 62 S. wangyuezhaoi Lixian, Sichuan, China CIB 119510 OP942192 OP941174 –Jia et al. (2023) Out group 63 Sphenomorphus cryptotis Shangsi, Guangxi, China CIB 119027 OP942206 OP942190 OP942215 Jia et al. (2023) 14 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species distance, measured from the anterior corner of the eye to the posterior margin of the naris; PDD = palpebral disc diameter, the maximum horizontal diameter of palpebral disc; ESD = snout length, measured from the tip of the snout to the anterior corner of eye; EL = ear opening diameter, maximum diameter of tympanum; FLL = forelimb length, measured from anterior junction of forelimb and body wall to tip of the finger IV; F4L = finger IV length, measured from the junction between the skin of third and fourth fingers to tip of finger IV; HLL = hind-limb length, measured from anterior junction of hindlimb and body wall to tip of toe IV; T4L = toe IV length, measured from the junction between the skin of third and fourth toes to tip of toe IV; and Limbs adpressed = whether the forelimbs and hindlimbs can make contact when the body is held straight and the limbs are adpressed. Scalation features and their abbreviations were as follows: SL = supralabials; IL = infralabials; FrN = frontonasals; SCI = superciliaries; SO = supraoculars; PF = prefrontals; FrP = frontoparietals; P = parietals; TEMP = enlarged temporals; Lor = loreals; NU = nuchals; chin-shields; GS = gulars scale; MBSR = midbody scale rows, number of longitudinal scale rows measured around the widest point of midbody; PVSR = paravertebral scale rows, the number of scale rows counted between parietals and the just posterior margin of hindlimbs; DBR = dorsal scale rows between dorsolateral stripes, the number of midbody dorsal scale rows between dark dorsolateral stripes; SRB = scale rows covered by dorsolateral stripes; VS = ventral scale rows, the number of scale rows counted between gulars and precloacals; F4S = number of enlarged, subdigital lamellae beneath finger IV; and T4S = number of enlarged, subdigital lamellae beneath toe IV. Sex was determined by dissection, based on the presence of testes or ovaries. In addition, following Jia et al. (2024), we also examined the diagnostic coloration characters in Scincella species: UMLLS = the upper margin of dorsolateral stripes wavy or relatively straight, and VDM = ventral dark markings, presence or absence of dark-colored markings on the ventral surface. The comparison with other species of the genus Scincella was based on available literature: Gray (1838), Boulenger (1887), Günther (1896), van Denburgh (1912), Stejneger (1925), Barbour (1927), Schmidt (1927), Smith (1935), Taylor (1963), Zhao and Huang (1982), Darevsky and Nguyen (1983), Ouboter (1986), Wang and Zhao (1986), Inger et al. (1990), Darevsky and Orlov (1997), Zhao et al. (1999), Chen et al. (2001), Darevsky et al. (2004), Bourret (2009), Nguyen et al. (2010a, b, 2011, 2019, 2020, 2025), Neang et al. (2018), Koizumi et al. (2022), Jia et al. (2023, 2024), Okabe et al. (2024), Pham et al. (2024), Bragin et al. (2025a, b), Jia et al. (2025), Pham et al. (2025), Xu et al. (2025a, b). Other abbreviations are as follows: Is: Island; Mt.: Mountain; NP: National Park; NR: Nature reserve; WS: Wildlife Sanctuary. Statistical analysis To compare quantitative variation among Scincella sp. from Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou, and its two closely related congeners S. alia and S. qianica (as suggested by DNA data), we conducted a series of univariate and multivariate statistical analyses to test whether the three species-level lineages occupied distinct morphological clusters and whether they differed significantly from one another. Prior to statistical analyses, specimens of Scincella sp. from Bijie, S. alia, and S. qianica were sorted based on external morphology and geographic distribution. 15 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Specimens with broken tails or incomplete morphological data were excluded from multivariate analyses but retained for univariate comparisons. Each morphological character was first tested for normality (Shapiro-Wilks test) and homogeneity of variances (Levene’s test). Independent-sample Student’s t-tests were conducted to assess sexual dimorphism across the dataset. Since most characters satisfied these assumptions and no significant sexual dimorphism was detected, we pooled males and females (including juveniles) for all subsequent analyses to maximize sample size. We then applied one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD post hoc tests to evaluate pairwise differences in individual morphological traits among the three lineages. For multivariate analyses, eight candidate morphological characters were combined, and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed on twenty-four specimens (8 Scincella sp. from Bijie, 12 S. alia, and 4 S. qianica). All statistical analyses were conducted in R v.4.4.0 (R Core Team 2024), and PCA visualization was generated using the R package ggplot2 (Wickham 2016). We considered all differences statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05. Results Phylogenetic analysis The topology obtained from the ML analysis is shown in Fig. 2. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on the 12S, 16S, and CO1 genes was largely consistent with previous studies regarding the relationships among species within the major clades of Scincella (Jia et al. 2023, 2024, 2025; Bragin et al. 2025a, b). All Scincella specimens clustered into a monophyletic group. The specimens from Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China formed a strongly supported lineage (SH = 100 / UFB = 100), with nearly no detectable molecular divergence in CO1 (mean p-distance = 0%), and were recovered as the sister group to S. alia. The combined clade of the above-mentioned was subsequently grouped with S. qianica, but the nodal support was relatively low (SH < 50 / UFB = 78). The uncorrected p-distance are presented in Table 2. Among Scincella species, interspecific p-distances based on the CO1 gene ranged from 8.0% (between S. boettgeri (Van Denburgh, 1912) and S. dunan Koizumi, Ota & Hikida) to 28.7% (between S. modesta and S. ochracea (Bourret)). In comparison, the newly collected specimens exhibited genetic distances ranging from 8.6% (vs S. alia) to 27.2% (vs S. reevesii), further supporting their distinctiveness from congeners. In light of the well-supported monophyly and significant genetic divergence of the Guizhou populations of Scincella sp., along with the unique geographical distribution and a combination of morphological characters, which concordantly differ this population from all known congeners, we herein describe the Scincella sp. population from Qixingguan District, Guizhou Province, as a new species. Morphological analysis The PCA of the three lineages based on eight morphological characters is shown in Fig. 3. The first two principal components together explained 69.59% of the total variance, with PC1 accounting for 47.46% and PC2 for 22.13%. 16 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Figure 2. Phylogenetic topology of the genus Scincella inferred from three mitochondrial (12S/16S/CO1) fragments. The nodes supporting values on branches are presented with the SH-like approximate likelihood ratio test (SH) / Ultrafast Bootstrap Approximation (UFB); the ones lower than 50 are displayed as “–”. Photos on thumbnails by YHX. Scincella 0.05 S. alia QHU R2025008 QHU R2025009 QHU R2025010 QHU R2025011 QHU R2025012 Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. VRTC NAP14081 ZMMU Re-18153 S. qianica QHU R2025001 S. qianica QHU R2025002 S. chengduensis CIB 117637 S. chengduensis CIB 118786 S. potanini DL KD202109071 S. monticola DL YNJC2020824 S. potanini DL KD202109072 S. truongi HUS 202401 S. truongi IEBR R.6329 S. liangshanensis CIB 119514 S. liangshanensis CIB 119513 S. liangshanensis XM-YXS80 S. honbaensis ITBCZ 4679 S. fansipanensis IEBR R.5185 S. fansipanensis IEBR R.5187 S. devorator ZMMU NAP07169 S. boettgeri KUZ R68001 S. boettgeri KUZ R68008 S. dunan KUZ R65170 S. dunan KUZ R67027 S. vandenburghi KUZ R66394 S. vandenburghi G398SV S. formosensis KUZ R37515 S. formosensis KUZ R37516 S. modesta WYF 11520 S. modesta CIB 121415 S. cf. rufocaudata ZFMK 76239 S. cf. rufocaudata ZFMK 76238 S. rupicola KUZ 40458 S. wangyuezhaoi CIB 119510 S. wangyuezhaoi CIB 87246 S. huanrenensis G390SH S. huanrenensis N/A S. auranticaudata ITBCZ 6527 S. auranticaudata ITBCZ 7620 S. badenensis ITBCZ 5966 S. badenensis ITBCZ 5993 S. nigrofasciata CBC02545 S. nigrofasciata ITBCZ 11028 S. reevesii NB 2017030715 S. reevesii N/A S. ochracea TBU PAT.254 S. ouboteri IEBR R.5042 S. ouboteri IEBR R.5043 S. assata KU 289795 S. assata KU 291286 S. cherriei RCMX 235 S. cherriei RCMX 219 S. lateralis DCC 2842 S. lateralis KU 289460 S. gemmingeri N/A S. melanosticta ZMMU NAP-05519 S. melanosticta ZMMU NAP-06376 S. baraensis ITBCZ 6534 S. baraensis ITBCZ 6536 S. balluca ZMMU R-13268-01062 S. balluca ZMMU R-13268-00412 Sphenomorphus cryptotis CIB 119027 52/78 100/100 100/100 82/78 93/99 67/51 89/– 92/59 61/– 76/57 92/– 79/98 99/100 87/95 96/99 72/75 –/– 80/52 99/98 74/– 89/84 94/97 80/69 –/– 99/99 80/– 93/89 96/99 80/94 98/93 76/– –/– Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. Figure 3. PCA scatter plots of Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov., S. alia, and S. qianica. The shape and color indicated signify different clusters of each Scincella spp. 17 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Table 2. Uncorrected p-distance (%) among the genus Scincella species based on partial mitochondria CO1 gene. No. Species 12345678910 11 12 1S. tenuistriata sp. nov. 0 2S. alia 8.6–8.8 0.8  3S. auranticaudata 23.2–23.4 20.9–21.6 0.5  4S. badenensis 23 21.3–21.9 9.9–10.0 0 5S. baraensis 25.1–25.4 24.7–25.9 22.3–22.8 22.0–22.2 0.2  6S. boettgeri 23 20.2–20.8 24.2–24.5 23.4 24.0–24.2 0.2  7S. chengduensis 17.4–17.8 16.4–17.0 22.4–22.6 22.0–22.5 25.5–26.2 20.9–21.3 0.3  8S. devorator 20.8 19.9–20.1 19.0–19.2 21.3 22.5 20.6 17.3–17.8 – 9S. balluca 20.7–20.9 19.5–20.1 21.4–22.0 21.9–22.2 19.1–19.3 21.8–22.0 22.7–23.4 22.1–22.3 1 10 S. dunan 25.1–25.3 22.3–23.2 24.4–24.9 23.5–23.8 26.3–26.7 8.0–8.4 21.1–21.7 20.8–21.0 23.5–23.8 0.2   11 S. fansipanensis 19.1 17.5–18.3 17.5–17.8 19.6 22.1–22.6 20.3 17.9–18.5 15.8 21.2–21.4 22.2–22.5 0 12 S. formosensis 22.9 21.7–22.0 23.5–23.7 24.4 23.4–23.8 9.5 21.3 20.9 23.0–23.1 10.0–10.4 22.9 0.2 13 S. honbaensis 21.4 21.1–22.0 23.4–23.7 23 23 22.5–22.7 20.9–21.4 21.9 19.8–20.4 21.1–21.3 21 23.5 14 S. huanrenensis 25.9 22.9–23.8 19.9–20.2 20.8 21.4–21.6 22.1 20.0–20.4 20.8 23.1–23.3 22.1–22.4 19.8–20.0 21.1–21.4 15 S. liangshanensis 18.1–18.7 18.1–19.2 22.5–23.6 21.2–21.3 21.1–22.0 20.2–21.4 17.5–18.5 17.4–17.8 19.6–20.4 23.2–24.3 13.3–14.2 23.2–23.5 16 S. melanosticta 23.2–23.4 21.8–22.3 21.4–22.2 23.1–23.3 22.8 24.7–25.4 22.8–23.4 22.9–23.5 22.3–23.0 26.2–26.9 22.0–22.9 25.4–25.6 17 S. modesta 21.0–22.3 21.8–22.1 22.0–23.1 23.3–23.6 22.6–23.3 17.6–18.1 20.4–22.6 19.7–19.9 18.7–20.9 17.5–20.0 18.4–18.9 19.3–19.9 18 S. nigrofasciata 19.5–19.9 19.8–20.4 13.2–15.0 11.9–12.0 22.9–23.1 23.8–24.1 20.8–22.1 21.9–23.6 20.7–21.6 24.2–25.0 18.0–19.8 24.7–25.0 19 S. ochracea 26.8 26.2–26.7 24.1–24.3 24.6 25.1–25.4 24.7–25.0 24.9 24.8 27.4–28.6 24.4–24.7 25.7 24.1 20 S. ouboteri 25.6–26.1 25.2–26.5 22.5–22.9 23.3–23.7 24.0–24.5 22.4–23.1 24.0–24.5 24.7–24.9 25.2–26.7 24.6–25.3 23.3–23.6 22.0–22.4 21 S. potanini 19.8–20.3 19.8–21.1 22.1–22.3 21.8–22.0 22.1–22.8 18.6–19.0 18.8–19.5 16.4–16.9 19.6–20.2 21.9–22.4 16.5–16.8 22.5–22.8 22 S. qianica 19.5 28.1–28.3 22.2–22.8 21.6 24.2–24.4 23.4 18.2–18.6 17.9 23.4 24.3–24.5 18.7–18.9 23.7 23 S. reevesii 27.2 27.7–27.8 24.8–25.0 24.9 24.6–24.8 24.4–24.6 26.1–26.6 24.5 27.3–27.6 24.8–25.0 25.8–25.9 25.2 24 S. truongi 20.4 19.3–19.5 20.1–20.8 20.8 25.3–25.5 20.7 18.4–18.8 20.7 21.7–22.2 22.6–22.8 18.8 21.7 25 S. vandenburghi 20.8–21.0 20.6–21.9 23.1–23.5 25.5–25.7 24.3–24.8 15.2–15.4 18.4–19.0 21.2–21.4 19.7–20.6 16.2–16.6 20.1–20.5 16.2–16.4 26 S. wangyuezhaoi 20.7 21.2–22.3 21.3–21.5 21.5 25.3–25.5 24.8 20.4–20.8 20.3 22.8–23.1 23.8–24.0 18.2–18.7 24 Table 2. Continued. No. Species 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1S. tenuistriata sp. nov.  2S. alia  3S. auranticaudata  4S. badenensis  5S. baraensis  6S. boettgeri  7S. chengduensis  8S. devorator  9S. balluca  10 S. dunan  11 S. fansipanensis  12 S. formosensis  13 S. honbaensis – 14 S. huanrenensis 21.8 0 15 S. liangshanensis 18.6–19.7 18.8–20.0 1.1–1.4           16 S. melanosticta 22.7 24.0–24.5 21.3–22.3 0.8          17 S. modesta 22.2–22.7 21.6–23.0 19.2–20.5 24.1–24.5 5.5         18 S. nigrofasciata 20.5–21.5 21.2–23.8 20.7–21.7 23.3–24.2 22.4–23.8 5.3        19 S. ochracea 24.8 25.6 23.7–24.3 25.8–26.7 26.8–28.7 24.3–24.4 –      20 S. ouboteri 22.4–22.6 24.2–24.3 23.7–24.6 26.8–27.3 26.5–27.5 23.0–23.8 8.9–9.2 0.3   21 S. potanini 21.7–22.2 20.8–21.3 15.4–16.5 22.4–23.6 19.8–20.8 19.7–20.7 25.6–25.9 24.4–24.9 0.3  22 S. qianica 22.3 23.1 16.0–16.5 23.5–24.1 22.1–24.3 23.8–24.4 26.9 26.0–26.2 19.7–20.0 0 23 S. reevesii 25.1 26.1 24.6–25.3 28 25.2–26.6 25.7–25.9 10.2 10.7–11.1 23.5–24.1 26.7 0  24 S. truongi 20.5 24.2 21.1–22.0 26.6–26.8 19.5–20.8 22.7–23.2 27.6 26.0–26.5 21.8–22.3 20.9 27.8 0 25 S. vandenburghi 23.1–23.3 23.1–23.3 19.4–20.5 27.2–27.5 17.4–18.1 22.4–23.8 26.3–26.5 26.1–26.8 20.2–20.7 23.0– 23.3 26.2– 26.5 20.3– 20.5 0.2 26 S. wangyuezhaoi 23.3 19.2 19.4 24.4–24.7 17.5–21.0 20.4–20.7 26.7 26.1–26.3 19.1–19.6 18.7 27 23.5 19.8– 20.0 24 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species ~0.5–1 scale rows on the trunk (vs stripes with relatively straight upper margins, covering ~1.5–2 scale rows); and presence of dark spots on ventral surface (vs absence). It can be distinguished from S. potanini by a comparatively longer tail, TAL/SVL ratio 1.58–1.75 (vs 1.02–1.12); a greater EL/PDD ratio (1.84–2.25 vs 0.79–1.25); PVSR 51–61 (vs 69–73); the dorsolateral stripes narrow and wavy, Table 4. Main morphological characteristics of the type series (all males) of Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. All measurements are in mm, the abbreviations of morphological characters are defined in the Materials and methods section. Specimen QHU R2025009 QHU R2025008 QHU R2025010 QHU R2025011 QHU R2025012 QHU R2025013 QHU R2025014 QHU R2025015 RangeType Holotype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Paratype Sex ♂♂♂♂♂♂♂♂ Original tail Yes No No Yes No No Yes No SVL 40.3 42.4 41.0 38.1 40.5 39.6 37.6 40.2 37.6–42.4 TAL 63.7 – – 66.7 – – 60.5 –60.5–66.7 TAL/SVL 1.58 – – 1.75 – – 1.61 –1.58–1.75 AGD 22.2 22.7 22.4 20.8 22.3 22.0 21.8 22.4 21.8–22.7 AGD/SVL 0.55 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.56 0.58 0.56 0.54–0.58 HL 8.41 9.21 8.17 8.57 8.22 8.60 8.15 8.87 8.15–9.21 HW 4.75 4.95 4.52 4.64 4.76 4.82 4.32 4.91 4.52–4.95 HH 3.11 3.79 3.36 3.15 3.43 3.64 2.91 3.98 2.91–3.98 ED 2.13 2.32 2.09 2.27 2.25 2.09 2.07 2.09 2.07–2.32 ESD 2.31 2.36 2.46 2.33 2.56 2.62 2.73 2.71 2.31–2.73 EN 2.00 1.95 1.82 1.53 1.59 1.86 1.82 1.87 1.53–2.00 PDD 0.80 0.67 0.65 0.74 0.78 0.78 0.63 0.75 0.63–0.80 EL 1.47 1.51 1.33 1.47 1.50 1.52 1.32 1.45 1.33–1.52 EL/PDD 1.84 2.25 2.05 1.99 1.92 1.95 2.10 1.93 1.84–2.25 FLL 9.78 9.66 9.67 9.68 9.01 9.44 9.64 9.77 9.01–9.78 FLL/SVL 0.24 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.24 0.22–0.26 HLL 11.77 12.63 12.94 11.77 12.46 12.33 12.56 13.89 11.77–13.89 HLL/SVL 0.29 0.30 0.32 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.33 0.35 0.29–0.35 F4L 1.80 1.82 2.00 2.12 2.03 2.13 1.93 2.16 1.80–2.16 T4L 3.41 3.56 3.67 3.59 3.07 3.01 3.26 3.49 3.01–3.67 PF 2, separated 2, separated 2, separated 2, separated 2, in contact 2, in contact 2, in contact 2, in contact separated or in contact FrP in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact Pin contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact SO 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4 SCI 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6 Lor 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2 2 TEMP 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2/1+2 1+2 SL 7/7 7/7 7/7 7/7 7/7 7/7 7/7 7/7 7 IL 5/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 5–6 Chin shields (pair) 333333333 NU 343434443–4 MBSR 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 PVSR 51 56 61 56 58 56 57 59 51–61 DBR 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 GS 22 22 23 21 21 22 21 21 21–23 VS 42 41 43 40 41 43 42 42 40–43 GS+VS 64 63 66 61 62 65 63 63 61–66 F4S 10 10 9 9 10 9 9 10 9–10 T4S 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 11 11–12 SRB 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 0.5–1 UMLLS wavy wavy wavy wavy wavy wavy wavy wavy wavy VDM spots spots spots spots spots spots spots spots spots Limbs adpressed No No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes or No 25 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species covering ~0.5–1 scale rows on the trunk (vs stripes with relatively straight upper margins, covering ~1.5–3 scale rows); and presence of dark spots on the ventral surface (vs absence). It can be distinguished from S. qianica by MBSR 24 (vs. 26); PVSR 51–61 (vs. 61–66); VS 40–43 (vs. 46–53); GS+VS 61–66 (vs. 66–75); and T4S 11–12 (vs. 13–14) Furthermore, it can be distinguished from S. truongi by smaller body size, SVL 37.6–42.4 mm (vs 49.0–59.4 mm); MBSR 24 (vs 28); TEMP 1+2 (vs 2+2); EL/PDD ratio 1.84–2.25 (vs 1.33–1.52); and presence of dark spots on the ventral surface (vs absence). Among the other three Chinese congeners (including S. tsinlingensis, S. huanrenensis, and S. schmidti) that share the character of having four dorsal scale rows between the dorsolateral stripes, Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. can be distinguished from S. tsinlingensis by MBSR 24 (vs 26–28); PVSR 51–61 (vs.70– Figure 8. Coloration of paratypes of Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. in preservation. A. QHU R2025010, adult male; B. QHU R2025011, adult male; C. QHU R2025012, adult male. Photographs by YHX. Scale bars: 10 mm. 26 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Figure 9. Habitat of Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. in Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China. Table 5. Comparisons of main morphological characters between Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. and eight closely related species of Scincella. Species S. tenuistriata sp. nov. S. alia S. chengduensis S. fansipanensis S. liangshanensis S. monticola S. potanini S. qianica S. truongi SVL (mm) 37.6–42.438.2–48.2 28.4–43.2 43.5–59.043.1–61.9 36.3–53.0 26.6–57.9 27.7–44.8 49.0–59.4 TAL (mm) 60.5–66.7 63.2–84.8 59.9 –54.4–83.8 – – 49.0–87.9 91.8–100.8 TAL/SVL 1.58–1.75 1.5–1.8 1.59 –0.96–1.71 1.61 1.02–1.12 1.76–2.14 1.70–1.71 AGD 21.8–22.7 20.6–29.4 /26.4–35.4 – – – 15.6–25.6 25.3–34.3 AGD/SVL 0.54–0.58 0.53–0.63 0.55–0.61 –0.56–0.66 0.56–0.65 0.52–0.72 0.56–0.59 0.52–0.59 FLL/SVL 0.22–0.26 0.20–0.27 0.21–0.26 –0.14–0.22 0.13–0.19 0.11–0.25 0.18–0.21 0.22–0.27 HLL/SVL 0.29–0.35 0.25–0.34 0.23–0.32 –0.22–0.33 0.20–0.22 0.17–0.31 0.27–0.30 0.29–0.38 EL/PDD 1.84–2.25 1.63–2.18 1.05–1.58 –1.25–2.38 0.62–1.11 0.79–1.25 1.65–1.92 1.33–1.52 PF in contact or separated in contact or separated in contact or separated separated in contact or separated in contact in contact or separated separated separated FrP in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact in contact Pin contact in contact in contact in contact in contact or separated in contact in contact in contact in contact SO 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 SCI 6 6 6–7 5–6 6–7 6–7 6–7 6–7 7–8 Lor 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 TEMP 1+2 1+2+2 1+2–2 1+2 1+2–2+3 1+2–2+2 1+2–2+2 1+2 2+2 SL 7 7 7 6–7 7 7 7–8 77–8 IL 6 (rarely 5) 6 7 6 7 7 7 6–7 6–7 NU 3–4 3–4 3–4 2–6 2–5 3–4 3 3 3 MBSR 24 26–28 23 22–24 23–27 23–25 24–27 26 28 PVSR 51–61 56–63 57–60 60–68 69–80 62–80 69–73 61–66 60–67 DBR 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 1/2+4+1/2 6 GS 21–23 22–25 21–22 –22–29 22–24 23–25 20–24 – VS 40–43 44–52 42–44 –43–57 45–52 45–64 46–53 – GS+VS 61–66 66–76 64–65 58–64 68–82 67–77 69–89 66–75 60–70 F4S 9–10 7–10 8–9 7–9 8–11 8–10 7–10 9–10 10 T4S 11–12 11–13 10–12 10–12 10–15 10–12 10–13 13–14 13–15 SRB 0.5–1 11–2.5 –1.5–2.5 1.5–2 1.5–3 1–1.5 – UMLLS wavy wavy straight straight straight straight straight straight wavy VDM spots absent spots absent absent absent absent stripes absent Limbs adpressed Yes or No No No No No No No No No 27 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species 90); GS+VS 61–66 (vs 83–98); EL/PDD ratio 1.84–2.25 (vs 0.80–1.14); and TAL/ SVL ratio 1.58–1.75 (vs 1.24–1.42). It can be distinguished from S. huanrenensis by having MBSR 24 (vs 25–28); PVSR 51–61 (vs 66–79); T4S 11–12 (vs 13–16); EL/PDD ratio 1.84–2.25 vs (0.61–1.14); and TAL/SVL ratio 1.58–1.75 (vs 1.19– 1.47). And it can be distinguished from S. schmidti by having MBSR 24 (vs 26); PVSR 51–61 (vs 68–91); GS+VS 61–66 (vs 71–87); and TAL/SVL ratio 1.58–1.75 (vs 1.9). In comparison with the remaining congeners in China, Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from S. barbouri, S. doriae, S. formosensis, S. modesta, S. przewalskii, S. reevesii, and S. wangyuezhaoi by having four dorsal scale rows between the dorsolateral stripes (vs 6–8). Moreover, it can be distinguished from S. barbouri by having T4S 11–12 (vs 15–17); from S. doriae by having MBSR 24 (vs 30–32), T4S 11–12 (vs 15–18); from S. formosensis by having MBSR 24 (vs 28–29), and T4S 11–12 (vs 14–18); from S. modesta by having TAL/SVL ratio 1.58–1.78 (vs 1.2–1.4), MBSR 24 (vs 26–28), and T4S 11–12 (vs 13–15); from S. przewalskii by having SO 4 (vs 3) and T4S 11–12 (vs 17); from S. reevesii by having T4S 11–12 (vs 15–18); and from S. wangyuezhaoi by having MBSR 24 (vs 27–30), and VS 40–43 (vs 46–59). In addition, Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from other Asian congeners as follows: from S. apraefrontalis Nguyen, Nguyen, Böhme & Ziegler, S. auranticaudata Nguyen, Nguyen, Le, Nguyen, Phan, Vo, Murphy & Che, S. badenensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Nguyen & Murphy, S. balluca Bragin, Zenin, Le, Nguyen, Nguyen & Poyarkov, S. baraensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Nguyen & Murphy, S. boettgeri, S. capitanea Ouboter, S. darevskii Nguyen, Ananjeva, Orlov, Rybaltovsky & Böhme, S. dunan, S. honbaensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Le, Nguyen, Phan, Vo, Murphy & Che, S. melanosticta, S. nigrofasciata Neang, Chan & Poyarkov, S. ochracea, S. ouboteri Pham, Pham, Le, Ngo, Ziegler & Nguyen, S. rara, S. rufocaudata (Darevsky & Nguyen), S. rupicola (Smith), S. truongi Pham, Ziegler, Pham, Hoang, Ngo & Le, S. vandenburghi (Schmidt), and S. victoriana (Shreve) by having 24 MBSR (vs 18 in S. apraefrontalis, 34–36 in S. auranticaudata, 30–32 in S. balluca, 32–36 in S. badenensis, 30 in S. baraensis, 26–32 in S. boettgeri, 30–32 in S. capitanea, 28 in S. darevskii, 26–29 in S. dunan, 28 in S. honbaensis, 30–32 in S. melanosticta, 32–33 in S. nigrofasciata, 30–32 in S. ochracea, 30– 32 in S. ouboteri, 24 in S. rara, 30–34 in S. rufocaudata, 33–36 in S. rupicola, 28–30 in S. vandenburghi, and 26 in S. victoriana); and from S. punctatolineata Boulenger by nuchals present (vs absent) and T4S 11–12 (vs 13–15). Etymology. The specific name tenuistriata is a Latin adjective in the nominative singular (adjusted to the feminine gender of the genus name), derived from the Latin words tenuis (meaning narrow) and stria (meaning furrow, channel; striatus meaning striped). The name is given in reference to the narrow, dark dorsolateral stripes of the new species. We propose the following common names for this species: 细纹滑蜥 (Xì Wén Huá Xī) in Chinese, “Narrow-striped Ground Skink” in English, and “Tonkopolosyi malyi stsink” (Тонкополосый малый сцинк) in Russian. Discussion In this study, we combined morphological and molecular analyses of Scincella ground skinks from Qixingguan District, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, China, to provide robust evidence for the recognition of the new species. Molecular phylogenetic analysis indicated that Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. is most 28 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species closely related to S. alia recently described species from northeastern Vietnam, with an uncorrected p-distance of 8.6–8.8% based on the CO1 gene. However, morphologically, the new species can be readily distinguished from S. alia by its fewer midbody and ventral scale rows, and the presence of distinct dark spots on the ventral surface. Moreover, these two species are also geographically separated by a distance of more than 600 km, with the new species occurring in the eastern Wumeng Mountains in China, while S. alia currently restricted to the Tay Con Linh Mountain Range in northeastern Vietnam, though its distribution may extend into adjacent areas of China. This clear geographic isolation likely contributed to their genetic and morphological divergence. Scincella potanini and S. monticola were historically believed to be widely distributed across the mountainous regions of western China and northern Vietnam (Inger et al. 1990; Zhao et al. 1999; Zhao 2003; Cai et al. 2018; Bragin et al. 2025a). However, with expanded field surveys and the application of DNA barcoding techniques, the taxonomic identities of many populations previously assigned to these species have been gradually re-evaluated. More than half of the Scincella species described in the past five years now placed in the S. potanini-S. monticola complex (e.g., Jia et al. 2023, 2024, 2025; Okabe et al. 2024; Bragin et al. 2025a; Pham et al. 2025). These findings suggest that the actual distributions of S. potanini and S. monticola sensu stricto are likely far more restricted than previously assumed. The discovery of Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. provides further evidence that the true diversity within the S. potanini-S. monticola group remains substantially underestimated and underscores the urgent need for acomprehensive taxonomic revision of this complex. In addition, consistent with most previous studies on Scincella taxonomy, the phylogenetic tree presented in this study exhibits generally low support at many of the deeper nodes (Neang et al. 2018; Nguyen et al. 2019, 2020; Koizumi et al. 2022; Jia et al. 2023, 2024; Okabe et al. 2024; Pham et al. 2024, 2025; Bragin et al. 2025a, b; Jia et al. 2025). This result likely reflects two major limitations: the restricted availability of genetic markers primarily mitochondrial DNA and the still insufficient taxon sampling taxon across the genus (Bragin et al. 2025a). Together, these factors underscore the urgent need for broader geographic and taxonomic sampling as well as the incorporation of additional genetic data, particularly nuclear markers, to improve phylogenetic resolution and facilitate more accurate species delimitation within the genus Scincella. The new species Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. inhabits well-preserved coniferous forest at elevations of 1,850 m in the eastern Wumeng Mountains, Guizhou Province. The microhabitat consists mainly of shaded forest floor with abundant leaf litter, stones, and decomposing logs, where individuals were observed foraging during the day and hiding beneath cover at night. This cool and moist montane environment appears to be essential for sustaining the species. From a conservation standpoint, Scincella tenuistriata sp. nov. is currently known only from its type locality in Qixingguan District, Guizhou Province. The restricted distribution and limited number of specimens highlight its potential vulnerability to habitat disturbance. However, given the absence of data on population size, trends, and wider distribution, we recommend that the species be preliminarily assessed as Data Deficient (DD) under the IUCN Red List criteria. Future surveys in adjacent montane areas are necessary to clarify its conservation status and to determine whether it may warrant listing in a threatened category. 29 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Acknowledgements We thank Bo Cai and Shun Ma (CIB, China) for their assistance with data analysis and manuscript polishing. We warmly thank Tosaphol Saetung Keetapithchayakul (DTU) for help with morphological analysis. We are also grateful to Shuo Liu (KIZ, China), Minh Duc Le (Hanoi, Vietnam), and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Additional information Conflict of interest The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Ethical statement No ethical statement was reported. Use of AI No use of AI was reported. Funding This research was funded by the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University [2025-KF-02], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [32301325], the Science and Technology Projects of Xizang Autonomous Region, China [XZ202501ZY0018], and the Russian Science Foundation (RSF grant N° 22-14-00037-P, for supporting the work of N.A. Poyarkov). Author contributions Conceptualization, Y.H. Xu, L.F. Peng, T.V. Nguyen, and N.A. Poyarkov; Data curation, Z.H. Gong, J.D. Deng, A.M. Bragin, S.Y. Weng, and T.R. Zhang; Funding acquisition, L.F. Peng and N.A. Poyarkov; Methodology, Y.H. Xu, S.Y. Weng, T.R. Zhang, and A.M. Bragin; Resources, L.F. Peng, T.V. Nguyen and N.A. Poyarkov; Software, Y.H. Xu, T.R. Zhang, and S.Y. Weng; Supervision, L.F. Peng, T.V. Nguyen, and N.A. Poyarkov; Visualization, Z.H. Gong, J.D. Deng, and Y.H. Xu; Writing – original draft, Y.H. Xu, Z.H. Gong, T.R. Zhang; Writing – review & editing, Y.H. Xu, L.F. Peng, N.A. Poyarkov, and T.V. Nguyen. Author ORCIDs Yuhao Xu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6094-6680 Tan Van Nguyen https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5413-968X Andrey M. Bragin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3621-9763 Tierui Zhang https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1869-9313 Nikolay A. Poyarkov https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7576-2283 Lifang Peng https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9325-7048 Data availability All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text. References Barbour T (1927) A new lizard from China. Copeia 165: 95. 30 ZooKeys 1258: 9–33 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1258.161382 Yuhao Xu et al.: A new Scincella species Boulenger GA (1887) An account of the reptiles and batrachians obtained in Tenasserim by M. L. Fea, of the Genoa Civic Museum. 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