Morphological and molecular evidence for the first occurrence of Takydromus kuehnei vietnamensis Ziegler & Bischoff, 1999 (Squamata, Lacertidae) in Guangxi, China

The first occurrence of the grass lizard subspecies Takydromus kuehnei vietnamensis Ziegler & Bischoff, 1999 in China is documented based on two specimens collected from Fangchenggang, Guangxi. Morphological features and molecular phylogenetic evidence from mitochondrial COI and Cyt b sequences concordantly identify these samples as T. k. vietnamensis , which forms a well-supported clade sister to the nominate subspecies T. k. kuehnei . The observed genetic divergence (6.4–7.9% for Cyt b ; 8.2–11.5% for COI) is consistent with deep lineage differentiation. This new record further complements the distributional data for T. k. vietnamensis and provides the first molecular resources for this poorly documented subspecies. The findings underscore the close biogeographic connection between southern China and northern Vietnam and emphasize the need for intensified surveys in cross-border regions.