Sphenomorphus lingnanensis sp. nov. Figs 1, 4 Type materials. Holotype. • An adult female (WZULXHTXSP 1) collected on 7 May 2024 by Jun-Jie Zhong from Liuxihe National Forest Park (23.73°N, 113.84°E; altitude 460 m above sea level), Guangzhou City, Greater Bay Area, Guangdong Province, China. Paratypes. • A series of juvenile paratypes (WZULXHTXSP 2–5) collected on 20 July 2024 by Jun-Jie Zhong and Kun Guo from the type locality. Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective derived from the geographic term “ Lingnan ” in South China, denoting the region south of five mountain ranges, namely the Yuechengling, Dupangling, Mengzhuling, Qingtianling, and Dayuling. Diagnosis. A medium-sized skink of the genus Sphenomorphus distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: Large, irregular white patches – often forming discontinuous vertical lines – extending from the postnasal region posteriorly to the hindlimbs; these markings are more conspicuous in juveniles and fade in adults. Dorsal and lateral scales smooth, cycloid. Prefrontals separated; parietals each bordered by a series of eight scales, the largest centrally, and in broad contact with the interparietal posteriorly; four nuchal scales; four supraoculars; two loreals, both in contact with supralabials; postnasal groove shallow or absent; supralabials seven; infralabials seven; chinshields in four pairs. Primary temporals two; secondary temporals two; the upper secondary temporals enlarged; subtemporals absent. Midbody scale counts 33–36; ventral scale counts 56–58; preanal scales two, enlarged. Subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe 16–18, under the fourth finger 10–12. Dorsum uniformly brown, occasionally with a few scattered small black spots; in juveniles, upralabials and infralabials bear distinct black or brown vertical stripes, which intensify in color from the snout posteriorly; in the holotype female, these labial scales become lighter in ground color. Description of holotype. An adult female (Figs 1, 4 A 1 – D 1), with the following measurements (in mm): SVL 75.8, tail length 94.4, head length 16.2, head width 9.4, head height 8.1. Head moderate in size; snout slightly pointed. Dorsal and lateral scales ovate and imbricate; lateral scales near the abdomen and ventral scales approximately hexagonal. A single frontonasal scale (width greater than length) in contact laterally with the nasal and first loreal scales, and posteriorly with the prefrontal and frontal scales. Two prefrontal scales, each in contact with a loreal scale anterolaterally and a supraocular scale posterolaterally. A nearly triangular frontal scale, in contact laterally with the first and second supraocular scales and posteriorly with the frontoparietal scales. Four supraocular scales; the first and fourth subtriangular, and the second and third subtrapezoidal. Two frontoparietals, each in contact laterally with the third and fourth supraocular scales (and slightly with the second supraocular scale), and posteriorly with the parietal and interparietal scales. A nearly pentagonal interparietal scale, with each side slightly curved and bearing a distinct eyespot. Large parietal scales, in contact posteriorly with the interparietal and frontoparietal scales, laterally with the upper secondary temporal scales, and posteriorly with the nuchal scales. Seven supralabial scales; the seventh was the largest, and the fifth was situated directly below the eye. Nostrils situated below the nasal scales. Nasal scales large, in contact ventrally with the first and second supralabial scales and posteriorly with the first loreal scale. The second loreal scale larger than the first, nearly rectangular in horizontal aspect, and in contact ventrally with the second and third supralabial scales and laterally with the first superciliary and frontonasal scales. Two preocular scales. Eight superciliary scales, not interrupted by the supraoculars. Two primary and two secondary temporals. Seven infralabials; the first was the smallest and the first two were in contact with the postmental scale. A large, semicircular mental scale, followed by a large postmental scale. Body scales smooth, dorsal scales similar in size to the vertebral scales. Two preanal scales, significantly enlarged compared to the ventral scales. Thirty-six longitudinal scale rows around midbody. Fifty-seven ventral scales. Subcaudal scales similar in size to the dorsal and caudal scales, but larger than the lateral caudal scales. Palmar and plantar scales rounded. A single row of supradigitals lamellae. Ten smooth subdigital lamellae under the fourth finger; 17 smooth subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe. Coloration of holotype in life. The dorsal ground color was a bronzy brown over the head, body, limbs, and tail, grading from a darker reddish brown on the head to a pale bluish gray on the tail; the ventral surfaces of the head and body were pale yellow; the ventral ground color of the tail was lilac; and the ventral surfaces of the limbs were brown. Color variation. In life, the coloration of the holotype (adult female) differed markedly from that of the paratypes (juveniles), as described above. In preservative, the dorsal ground color of the body becomes bluish gray, the dorsal surface of the head dark brown, and the ventral surfaces of the head and body white. Distribution. Sphenomorphus lingnanensis sp. nov. is currently known only from the following two localities in central Guangdong Province, South China: Liuxihe National Forest Park and the nearby Nankunshan Provincial Nature Reserve, Guangzhou, within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The two localities are separated by a straight-line distance of approximately 5 km. Natural history. Based on current observations, S. lingnanensis sp. nov. inhabits evergreen broad-leaved forests at elevations between 440 and 600 m above sea level, typically in areas with a thick layer of leaf litter (Fig. 1). Individuals are often encountered along forest roadsides. When threatened, they retreat rapidly into the leaf litter. The species appears to be both diurnal and nocturnal. Reproductive mode. Sphenomorphus lingnanensis sp. nov. is viviparous, as evidenced by a female (77.7 mm SVL) that produced a litter of four neonates on 13 August 2025. The postpartum body mass was 8.35 g, and neonate body masses ranged from 0.49 to 0.57 g (Table 3). * Regenerated tail.

Published as part of Guo, Kun, Zhong, Jun-Jie, Li, Yi-Peng, Xu, Wang, Wang, Wei-Min, Li, Yu-Dong, Yu, Xin-Fan & Ji, Xiang, 2026, A new skink species of the genus Sphenomorphus Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Central Guangdong, South China, pp. 411-420 in Zoosystematics and Evolution 102 (2) on pages 411-420, DOI: 10.3897/zse.102.183764