Resolution of Cryptic Species in the New Guinean Lizard, Sphenomorphus jobiensis (Scincidae) by Electrophoresis

phologically so similar that their specific distinction is not recognized on morphology alone. The detection of cryptic species has been facilitated by the application of allozyme electrophoresis to population studies (Thorpe et al., 1978; Hedgecock, 1979; Comparini and Rodino, 1980; Sage, 1981; Smith and Robertson, 1981; Baverstock et al., 1983, 1984; Miyamoto, 1983; Guttman and Karlin, 1986). Species which have a wide geographical or altitudinal range, occupy several habitats, or show unaccountable morphological variation are prime candidates for the presence of cryptic species. The scincid lizard Sphenomorphus jobiensis (Meyer) is a wide-ranging species found from sea-level to altitudes of approx. 1500 m on the island of New Guinea, the Aru Islands in the west, and extends into the Bismarck and Louisiade archipelagos in the east (De Rooij, 1915; Loveridge, 1948). It is therefore a distinct possibility that cryptic species may be present. Indeed there is presently some morphological evidence for an additional sibling species (Greer, pers. comm.). The present study employed allozyme electrophoresis to determine the presence of cryptic species in S. jobiensis.