#Jules Farquhar

[snakemanaustralia]

Taxonomic vandalism - James Farquhar

Jules Farquhar and the Adam Britton cohort are faking scientific discoveries again.

Today they have SPAMMED the media and the web with false claims of the discovery of a new species of lizard from central Australia, that they have called Liopholis aputja. Problem is that it was already named Liopholis faaark by a proper scientist, Snake Man Raymond Hoser a year ago!

The fake scientists have merely copied the pioneering work of the snake man and then falsely claimed it as their own.

This dishonest practice of renaming species already named is called Taxonomic vandalism.

Download the original Hoser paper from Feb 2024 at: Hoser, R. T. 2024. Hiding in plain sight: Yet ten more new species and five new subspecies of skink lizard from mainly southern Australia (Scincidae: Liopholis and Flamoscincus). Australasian Journal of Herpetology 67:44-64. Published 12 February 2024. LSIDURN:LSID:ZOOBANK.ORG:PUB:37F01C42-C0A4-4CBF-9883-57E1ECDC22D8

Full text at: https://www.smuggled.com/AJH-67-pages-44-64.pdf

The more recent so-called “paper” was published in the notorious online only, not peer reviewed “journal” called Zootoxic.

It is was uploaded to the web this week (Nov 2024) and titled: “A new species of rock skink (Scincidae: Liopholis) from the central ranges bioregion of arid Australia. Zootaxa 5536(1) 153-177“

You cannot read this bootlegged data because the authors have stashed it behind a paywall in breach of the relevant rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

Renaming an established species in an act of taxonomic vandalism is also a breach of the Australian Copyright Act under the moral rights sections.

From Hoser 2024.

LIOPHOLIS FAAAAAARK SP. NOV.

LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4B15ED4F-FF8D-48E8-86CF 49618271EFD0

Holotype: A preserved specimen at the South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, specimen number R51590 collected from 36.5 km south east of Amata, South Australia, Australia, Latitude -26.2558 S., Longitude 131.4933 E. This government-owned facility allows access to its holdings.

Paratypes: 1/ A preserved specimen at the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, specimen number R.17456 collected from the Erliwunyawunya Rockhole, Musgrave Ranges, South Australia, Australia, Latitude -26.35833 S., Longitude 131.72499 E. 2/ A preserved specimen at the South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, specimen number R60802 collected from approximately 10km north of Ernabella (now called Pukatja), South Australia, Australia, Latitude -26.1917 S., Longitude 132.1458 E. 3/ A preserved specimen at the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, specimen number R.17271 collected from the Piltadi Rockhole in South Australia, Australia, Latitude -26.116 S., Longitude 130.283 E.

Diagnosis: Since Glen Storr’s original description of “Egernia margaretae” in 1968, the South Australian population of Liopholis margaretae (Storr, 1968) as it is now known, type locality: Palm Valley, Northern Territory (NT), Australia, Latitude 24.03 S., Longitude 132.42 E. has been treated by all Australian herpetologists until now as the same species. However the concept of the South Australian population being of the same species is biogeographically untenable. Therefore it is formally described herein as Liopholis faaaaaark sp. nov.. L. faaaaark sp. nov. is readily separated from L. margaretae by the very narrow separation of nasals (versus wide), wider interparietal (more-or-less as wide as the frontal), versus not so in L. margaretae, fewer supraciliaries (6) versus 7-9 (usually 8) in L. margaretae, usually more upper palpebrals (11 to 13) versus 10-12 in L. margaretae, and on average fewer rows of midbody scales (32 to 36), versus 34-38 in L. margaretae. The relatively long limbs are about 31 and 42 percent of SVL (versus 22-28% and 31-38% in L. margaretae). Colouration of both L. margaretae and L. faaaaark sp. nov. is olive brown dorsally with reddish-brown anteriorly and paler on the tail. In L. margaretae there is black spotting on the back and tail that is irregularly distributed, but tending towards longitudinal alignment. Small black spots are scattered on the top and side of the head. Sutures of chin shields are irregularly margined with black. There are dark brownish grey spots or short wavy lines on the throat. In about a third of specimens black markings are almost or completely lacking. L. faaaaark sp. nov. generally lacks patterning on the dorsum in adults. Sometimes there are faded black spots, these being the remnants of a laterodorsal stripe that is better defined in juveniles. Both preceding species have a narrow to moderately-wide ear aperture, 3-5 lobules, usually obtuse, sometimes rectangular, rarely acute. Snout-vent length averages about 95 mm in adults and a snout that is no more depressed than the rest of the head (versus strongly depressed and concave in plan in the closely related species M. personata (Storr, 1968), the latter being found in more southern parts of South Australia, generally in or around the Flinders Ranges district. The three preceding species are separated from all others in the genus Liopholis Fitzinger, 1843 by the presence of smooth dorsal scales, the presence of conspicuous black callus along the free edge of the subdigital lamellae and the scales of the soles and palms each with a prominent black tubercle. L. faaaaark sp. nov. from hilly country in far north South Australia, is separated from the Northern Territory population of L. margaretae with a distribution centred on the central ranges of central Australia by the Amadeus Lowlands, a well-known biogeographical barrier. A molecular phylogeny of Oliver et al. (2007) at fig. 3. found that centralian populations of geckos in the genus Diplodactylus subgenus Yankunytjatjaragecko Hoser, 2023, namely D. (Yankunytjatjaragecko) galeatus Kluge, 1963 from the Coober Pedy area of South Australia, D. (Yankunytjatjaragecko) aah Hoser, 2023 from the Macdonell Ranges of central Australia and D. (Yankunytjatjaragecko) ooh Hoser, 2023 from the Bagot and Beddoma Ranges in northern South Australia, diverged from one another between 5 and 10 MYA. A similar divergence between L. faaaaark sp. nov. and L. margaretae can therefore also be reasonably expected.

This is more than sufficient divergence for species-level recognition. L. faaaaark sp. nov. is depicted in life in Cogger (2014) on page 639 bottom left. L. margaretae in life is depicted in Wilson and Swan (2021) on page 397, second image from top and Brown (2014) on page 513, second from top on right. Distribution: L. faaaaark sp. nov. is confined the hilly region in the north-west of South Australia, just south of the NT/SA border. It is separated from the Centralian population of the closely related species L. margaretae by the Amadeus Lowlands, a well-known biogeographical barrier.

Conservation: While this taxon is relatively range restricted by virtue of relevant biogeographical barriers, the remoteness of the region in terms of human activity offers the species significant protection. Long-term habitat destruction by feral or native animals is perhaps the biggest potential issue facing this taxon in the foreseeable future and to that extent populations of this and other species and subspecies restricted to this region, such as the recently described range restricted gecko Diplodactylus (Yankunytjatjaragecko) ooh Hoser, 2023 should have their populations monitored at regular intervals.

Etymology: In 1983, when searching for the newly named species in far north-west South Australia, I recruited the assistance of some native Pitjantjatjara children who said they knew where and how to find them. When a child saw a lizard scuttle under a boulder he yelled out “FAAAAAARK”, giving this species it’s scientific name.

[bogleech]

(photo by cowyeow!)

One of my favorite anatomical features nature ever came up with is the scaly ball with horns on the back of a thorny devil lizard’s neck. What is that?? No other animal anywhere on Earth has anything like it. It doesn’t have any name anybody has ever given it but I’m sure it’s called the scuntchit.

(photo is by jules farquhar and here’s a link to a top view)

“aye I know this desert like me grandpappy’s scuntchit!” see it just works, you even heard it in his voice (you know, the voice you thought this would have when you looked at it, his voice)

[nullarysources]

Monash University researchers discover new species of skink in central Australian desert

News release from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia:

A new species of rock skink has been discovered in central Australia by Monash University researchers.

Characterised by its orange, pointed snout, the Central Ranges rock skink, or Liopholis aputja, inhabits the hills of the Mann-Musgrave Ranges near the northern border of South Australia.

Jules Farquhar, who led the research for Monash University's School of Biological Sciences, said "aputja" is a local Aboriginal word meaning "of the hills".

Hell yeah new lizard just dropped, I'll take seven

[sitting-on-me-bum]

As the name suggests, leaf-tailed geckos (Saltuarius swaini) have a broad, flat tail that resembles a leaf. This not only assists in camouflage, but the tail can appear to predators to be the lizard's head.

IMAGE CREDIT: Jules Farquhar