Lomi's blind legless skink
| Lomi's blind legless skink | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Typhlosaurus |
| Species: | T. lomiae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Typhlosaurus lomiae Haacke, 1986
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Lomi's blind legless skink (Typhlosaurus lomiae) is a species of lizard in the subfamily Acontinae of the family Scincidae.[1] The species is endemic to Little Namaqualand in South Africa.[2]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]The specific name lomiae honours Miss Lomi Wessels Brown, Collection Manager of lower vertebrates and invertebrates at the Transvaal Museum since 1976.[2][3]
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]In 1986 South African herpetologist Wulf Dietrich Haacke originally named this species Typhlosaurus lomii, which is masculine (genitive singular). In 2004 J. Pieter Michels and Aaron Matthew Bauer corrected the specific name to lomiae, which is feminine (genitive singular) because it honors a woman.[4]
Description
[edit | edit source]T. lomiae is limbless,[2] blind, slender, and small. The usual snout-to-vent length (SVL) of adults is 10–11 cm (3.9–4.3 in). Dorsally, it is bright goldish pink, while ventrally, it is whitish and almost translucent.[5]
Habitat
[edit | edit source]The preferred habitat of T. lomiae is succulent veld with sandy soil,[5] such as vegetated sand dunes with termite nests, at altidudes from near sea level to 100 m (330 ft).[1]
Reproduction
[edit | edit source]T. lomiae is viviparous.[2]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d e Typhlosaurus lomiae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 7 January 2017.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. (Typhlosaurus lomiae, p. 160).
- ^ Michels JP, Bauer AM (2004). "Some corrections to the scientific names of amphibians and reptiles". Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 52: 83–94.
- ^ a b 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., 112 plates. (Typhlosaurus lomii, p. 138 + Plate 43).
Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Haacke WD (1986). "Description of a new species of Typhlosaurus Wiegmann, 1834 (Reptilia: Scincidae) from the west coast of southern Africa, with new records of related species". Annals of the Transvaal Museum 34 (9): 227–235. (Typhlosaurus lomii, new species).
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