Species:

Takydromus luyeanus  LUE & LIN, 2008

Common names:

Luye grass lizard (English)
Luye Langschwanzeidechse (German)
鹿野草蜥 (Chinese)

Types:

Holotype: NMNS 4433, an adult male. Perching on high grasslands (Miscanthus sinensis). Collected at night on 13 July 2004 by Chun-Wen Chang and Si-Min Lin. Deposited in Natural Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan.

Terra Typica:

Luye, Taidong County, Taiwan (22° 53’ 47.0” N, 121° 05’ 19.0” E, on the bank of Luye Stream, the branch of Beinan River, elevation 180 m.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Lue, K.-Y. & Lin, S.-M. (2008) -  Two new cryptic species of Takydromus (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Taiwan. -  Herpetologica, 64 (3): 379-395.    

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  Two new grass lizard species, previously confused with Takydromus formosanus, were identified in Taiwan using mitochondrial DNA sequences. In the present study, 40 morphological characters and their taxonomic significances were assessed using principal components analysis and discriminant analysis. The three species can be distinguished by morphology of body sizes, dorsal and caudal scales, and most importantly, by male coloration during the breeding seasons. The present study increases the total number of Takydromus to 19 species, of which 10 are insular endemics, with six only occurring in Taiwan.