Scelotes anguinus (BOULENGER, 1887)

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Algoa Dwarf Burrowing Skink, Boulenger's Burrowing Skink
Synonym	Herpetoseps anguinus BOULENGER 1887: 416 Herpetosaura anguinea — TORNIER 1902: 704 Scelotes anguina — GREER 1970 Scelotes anguina — BRANCH & HAAGNER 1996 Scelotes anguineus — WHITING et al. 2003 Scelotes anguineus — BAUER 2016 Scelotes anguinus — RAW 2022
Distribution	Republic of South Africa (Algoa Basin in E Cape) Type locality: South Africa, near Port Elizabeth.
Reproduction	ovovivparous
Types	Holotype: BMNH (presumed, status unclear fide P. Campbell, pers. comm., March 2019).
Diagnosis
Comment	Limb morphology: This species lost its forelimb entirely and retains only two digits on the hind limb. Synonymy: Tornier 1902 synonymized Herpetoseps with Herpetosaura PETERS. However, Tornier misspelled anguina (as anguineus) and did not emend that name intentionally.
Etymology	Apparently after Latin anguis = snake, for its snake-like appearance.
References	Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp. Boulenger, G. A. 1887. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London: 575 pp. - get paper here Branch, W.R.; Haagner, G.V. 1996. Life History Notes - Scelotes anguina. African Herp News (25): 38-39 - get paper here Greer, Allen E. 1970. The systematics and evolution of the Subsaharan Africa, Seychelles, and Mauritius Scincine Scincid lizards. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 140 (1): 1-24 - get paper here Raw, Lynn R. G. 2022. Historical and Current Misuse of Gender Agreement in the Names of South African Lizard Species. ZooNova 18: 1-5 Tornier,G. 1902. Herpetologisch Neues aus Ostafrika. Zool. Anz. 25: 700-704 - get paper here Whiting, A.S.; Aaron M. Bauer and Jack W. Sites, Jr. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships and limb loss in sub-Saharan African scincine lizards (Squamata: Scincidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29 (3): 582-598 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/reptiles/squamata/scincidae/Scelotes… Google images

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