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Mesoscincus schwartzei (FISCHER, 1884)

IUCN Red List - Mesoscincus schwartzei - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mayan Black-headed Skink, Schwartze's Skink
S: Lincer de Schwartz 
SynonymEumeces schwartzei FISCHER 1884: 43
Eumeces schwartzii — GÜNTHER 1885: 33
Eurylepis schwartzei — DUNN 1933
Eumeces schwartzei — TAYLOR 1936: 94
Eumeces schwartzei — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 162
Eumeces schwartzei — STUART 1963
Eumeces schwartzei — LINER 1994
Mesoscincus schwartzei — GRIFFITH, NGO & MURPHY 2000
Eumeces schwartzei — KÖHLER 2000: 92
Mesoscincus schwartzei — SCHMITZ et al. 2004 
DistributionMexico (Chiapas, Yucatan, Tabasco, Campeche, Quintana Roo), Guatemala, Belize.

Type locality: “Eine kleine Insel in der Laguna de Términos (Campeche Bai)”.  
Reproductionoviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: ZMH R04402, Naturh. Mus. Hamburg (formerly no. 810, RK 821 Fol.335 E.K.7260). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus Mesoscincus): 27 presacral vertebrae. Limbs relatively slender, lamellae not expanded. Dorsal surface of head somewhat depressed in lateral view, parietal bone with clear lateral indentations and supratemporal fontanelle open. Sexual dimorphism not distinct. Scales shiny, separated by shallow sutures. Two loreals, followed by three presubocular scales. Post-nasal scales present. Palpebral and superciliary scales not separated by groove. Elevated numbers (4 or 5 pairs) of nuchal scales, followed by several pairs of broadened mid-dorsal scales and broad row of fused mid-dorsal scales. Large medial preanal scales overlie small lateral pair. Ear lobules small and rounded, but conspicuous. Color pattern variable, but generally consists of irregular spots and longitudinal striping. From lowlands of southern Mexico (Michoacan, Yucatan Peninsula), northern and Pacific coastal Honduras, Pacific coastal Nicaragua and Costa Rica (GRIFFITH et al. 2000). 
CommentType Species: Eumeces schwartzei FISCHER 1884 is the type species of the genus Mesoscincus GRIFFITH et al. 2000. 
Etymology“zu Ehren des Herrn Obergerichtspräsidenten Dr. E. W. E. Schwartze benannt, des Präsidenten des Verwaltungsrates der Zoologischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg” (from FISCHER 1884). 
References
  • Aguilar-López JL, Luría-Manzano R, Pineda E, Canseco-Márquez L 2021. Selva Zoque, Mexico: an important Mesoamerican tropical region for reptile species diversity and conservation. ZooKeys 1054: 127-153 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Campbell, J.A. 1998. Amphibians and reptiles of northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and Belize. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, xiii + 380 pp. - get paper here
  • Colston, Timothy J.; José António L. Barão-Nóbrega, Ryan Manders, Alice Lett, Jamie Wilmott, Gavin Cameron, Sidony Hunter, Adam Radage, Etienne Littlefair, Robert J. Williams, Antonio Lopez Cen, Kathy Slater 2015. Amphibians and reptiles of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, México, with new records. Check List 11 (5): 1759 - get paper here
  • Duellman, W. E. 1963. Amphibians and reptiles of the rainforest of Southern El Peten, Guatemala. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 15: 205-49. - get paper here
  • Duellman, William E. 1966. The Central American herpetofauna: An ecological perspective. Copeia 1966 (4): 700-719 - get paper here
  • Dunn, E. R. 1933. A new lizard from Nicaragua. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 46: 67-68 - get paper here
  • Fischer, J. G. 1884. Herpetologische Bemerkungen. Abh. Nat. Ver. Hamburg 8 (2): 43-51 (3-11)
  • Gaige,H. 1936. Some reptiles and amphibians from Yucatan and Campeche, Mexico. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ., (457): 289-304.
  • González-Sánchez, V. H., J. D. Johnson, E. García-Padilla, V. Mata-Silva, D. L. DeSantis and L. D. Wilson. 2017. The Herpetofauna of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(2): 264–380 - get paper here
  • Griffith, H., A. Ngo & R. W. Murphy 2000. A cladistic evaluation of the cosmopolitan genus Eumeces Wiegmann (Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 7 (1): 1-16 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. C. L. G. 1885. Reptilia and Batrachia. Biologia Centrali-Américana. Taylor, & Francis, London, 326 pp. [published in parts from 1885-1902; reprint by the SSAR 1987] - get paper here
  • Hedges SB, Powell R, Henderson RW, Hanson S, and Murphy JC 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology 67: 1–53
  • Johnson, Jerry D.; Vicente Mata-Silva, Elí García Padilla, and Larry David Wilson 2015. The Herpetofauna of Chiapas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (3): 272–329. - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
  • Lee, J. C. 2000. A field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the Maya world. Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
  • Lee, J.C. 1996. The amphibians and reptiles of the Yucatán Peninsula. Comstock, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 500 pp.
  • Legler, J.M. 1959. A new tortoise, genus Gopherus, from north-central Mexico. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 11: 335-343. - get paper here
  • McCOY, C. J., CENSKY, E. J., & VAN DE VENDER, R. R. 1986. Distribution records for amphibians and reptiles in Belize, Central America. Herpetological Review 17:28-29. - get paper here
  • Schmitz, Andreas; Patrick Mausfeld and Dirk Embert 2004. Molecular studies on the genus Eumeces Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications. Hamadryad 28 (1-2): 73 – 89 - get paper here
  • Smith, H.M. & Taylor,E.H. 1950. An annotated checklist and key to the reptiles of Mexico exclusive of the snakes. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 199: 1-253 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L.C. 1963. A checklist of the herpetofauna of Guatemala. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan (No. 122): 1-150 - get paper here
  • Taylor, E. H. 1936. A taxonomic study of the cosmopolitan lizards of the genus Eumeces with an account of the distribution and relationship of its species. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 23 (14): 1-643 [1935] - get paper here
  • Taylor, E. H. 1943. Mexican lizards of the genus Eumeces, with comments on the recent literature on the genus. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 29 (5): 269-300 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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