Biology:Mochlus hinkeli

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Short description: Species of lizard

Mochlus hinkeli
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Mochlus
Species:
M. hinkeli
Binomial name
Mochlus hinkeli
(Wagner, Böhme, Pauwels & Schmitz, 2009)
Synonyms[2][3]

Lepidothyris hinkeli Wagner, Böhme, Pauwels & Schmitz, 2009[1]

Mochlus hinkeli, also known commonly as Hinkel's red-flanked skink and Hinkel's red-sided skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae.[2][3] The species is native to eastern Central Africa and East Africa. There are two recognized subspecies.

Etymology

The specific name, hinkeli, is in honor of German herpetologist Harald Hinkel.[4]

Geographic range

M. hinkeli is found in northern Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, western Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of M. hinkeli is forest.[2]

Description

M. hinkeli measures 76–146 mm (3.0–5.7 in) in snout-to-vent length (SVL).[1]

Behavior

M. hinkeli is terrestrial and diurnal.[2]

Reproduction

M. hinkeli is oviparous.[3] Clutch size may be as many as 12 eggs.[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]

  • Mochlus hinkeli hinkeli (Wagner et al., 2009)
  • Mochlus hinkeli joei (Wagner et al., 2009)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wagner, P.; Böhme, W.; Pauwels, O.S.G.; Schmitz, A. (2009). "A review of the African red-flanked skinks of the Lygosoma fernandi (BURTON, 1836) species group (Squamata: Scincidae) and the role of climate change in their speciation". Zootaxa 2050 (1): 1–30. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2050.1.1.  (Lepidothyris hinkeli, new species).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named IUCN
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mochlus hinkeli at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 26 March 2022.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lepidothyris hinkeli, p. 124).

Further reading

  • Böhme W, Fischer E, Hinkel H (2023). "Reptilien aus dem Irangi Forest, Provinz Kivu-Süd, Demokratische Republik Kongo". Sauria, Berlin 45 (4): 29–43. (in German).
  • Freitas ES, Datta-Roy A, Karanth P, Grismer LL, Siler CD (2019). "Multlocus phylogenyand a new classification for African, Asian and Indian supple and writhing skinks (Scincidae: Lygosominae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 186 (4): 1067–1096. (Mochlus hinkeli, new combination).
  • Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618.

Wikidata ☰ Q111371041 entry