Sphenomorphus puhoatensis (Squamata, Scincidae), a new skink from Nghe An Province, Vietnam

A new species of the genus Sphenomorphus Fitzinger, 1843 is described from north-central Vietnam based on morphological differences and molecular divergence. Sphenomorphus puhoatensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by distinct body size, head and body scalation, dorsal scale shape, number of lamellae beneath finger IV and toe IV, and color pattern. In the phylogenetic analyses, the new species is recovered as a sister taxon to S. tamchucensis and genetically at least 6.9 % and up to 16.6 % divergent from other species in the genus based on two fragments of the mitochondrial 16 S and COI genes, respectively.