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Phaeoscincus taomensis WHITAKER, SMITH & BAUER, 2014

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymPhaeoscincus taomensis WHITAKER, SMITH & BAUER in SADLIER et al. 2014 
DistributionNew Caledonia (Mt Taom)

Type locality: New Caledonia, Mt Taom, Massif d’Ouazangou-Taom, 20°47’04.8”S 164°34’42.3”E (elevation 1020 m.)  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 2003.1005 (formerly AMS R.161182) collected by A.H. & V.A. Whitaker, 12 June 2002 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Phaeoscincus taomensis n. sp. can be distinguished from the only other member of the genus, Phaeoscincus ouinensis n. sp., in having two (vs single) lower secondary temporal scales, and significantly more lamellae beneath fourth finger (mean = 15 vs 12), scales on top of fourth toe (mean = 14.0 vs 11.5) and lamellae beneath fourth toe (mean = 29.5 vs 21.5).


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CommentType species: Phaeoscincus taomensis is the type species of the genus Phaeoscincus SADLIER, SMITH & BAUER 2014.

Habitat: Mt Taom is located in the northwest of the island close to the coast about 40 km north of the town of Koné. The mountain is covered with maquis shrubland and has small patches of closed forest on the slopes and at the summit. The holotype was collected in high-elevation maquis shrubland with a thick groundcover of the fern Gleichenia sp. on a broken lateritic cuirasse surface.

Abundance: only known from the type specimen (Meiri et al. 2017). 
EtymologyThe epithet is a noun in apposition in reference to the type locality, Mt Taom.

The name for the genus is derived from the Greek phaios brown and skinkos for skink, meaning ‘brown skink’ which describes the overall ‘non-descript’ appearance of the members of the genus. 
References
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • SADLIER, Ross A.; Aaron M. BAUER, Sarah A. SMITH, Glenn M. SHEA & Anthony H. WHITAKER 2014. High elevation endemism on New Caledonia's ultramafic peaks - a new genus and two new species of scincid lizard. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 206: 115-125.
 
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