title: A long-lost relic from the Eastern Ghats: Morphology, distribution and habitat of Sepsophis punctatus Beddome, 1870 (Squamata: Scincidae).
abstract: Sepsophis punctatus Beddome 1870, the only species of a monotypic genus, was described based on a single specimen from the Eastern Ghats of India. We rediscovered the species based on specimens from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh state, India, after a gap of 137 years, including four specimens from close to the type locality. The holotype was studied in detail, and we present additional morphological characters of the species with details on natural history, habitat and diet. The morphological characters of the holotype along with two additional specimens collected by Beddome are compared with the specimens collected by us. We also briefly discuss the distribution of other members of the subfamily Scincinae and their evolutionary affinities.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India. datta.roy82@gmail.com
authors.forename: Aniruddha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Datta-roy
authors.forename: Pratyush P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Mohapatra
authors.forename: Sushil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Duttai
authors.forename: Varad B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Giri
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veerappan
authors.forename: Simon T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Maddock
authors.forename: Prudhvi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Raj
authors.forename: Ishan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karanth
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D007194:India; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size