Biology:Günther's dwarf burrowing skink

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Short description: Species of lizard

Günther's dwarf burrowing skink
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Scelotes
Species:
S. guentheri
Binomial name
Scelotes guentheri
Boulenger, 1887

Günther's dwarf burrowing skink (Scelotes guentheri), also known commonly as Günther's burrowing skink, was a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species was endemic to Natal, South Africa .[1][2]

Description

S. guentheri is known from only one specimen which was collected in 1886.[3] It has greatly reduced limbs. The forelimbs are entirely absent, and the hind limbs retain only two digits.[2] This holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 9.8 cm (3.9 in), and a tail length of 7.0 cm (2.8 in).[4]

Etymology

The specific name, guentheri, and the common names are in honor of Germany -born British herpetologist Albert Günther.[2][5]

Conservation status

S. guentheri is considered to be extinct.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named iucn status 15 November 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Scelotes guentheri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 January 2015.
  3. Branch (2004).
  4. Boulenger (1887).
  5. 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. (Scelotes guentheri, p. 110).

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ...Scincidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Scelotes guentheri, new species, pp. 414–415 + Plate XXIV, figures 3, 3a, 3b, 3c).
  • Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN:0-88359-042-5. (Scelotes guentheri, p. 142).
  • Raw LRG (2021). "On the Status of Scelotes bourquini Broadley and Scelotes guentheri Boulenger (Sauria: Scincidae) from Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa". ''ZooNova (7): 1–6.


Wikidata ☰ Q211397 entry