Brachymeles minimus BROWN & ALCALA, 1995

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names
Synonym	Brachymeles minimus BROWN & ALCALA 1995: 392 Brachymeles minimus — SILER et al. 2009
Distribution	Philippines (Catanduanes Island) Type locality: original forest at 600 m on Mt Tungaw-tungaw (13° 40’ N, 124° 21’ E), about 4 km west of Gigmoto, Catanduanes Prov., Catanduanes Island.
Reproduction	ovoviviparous
Types	Holotype: FMNH 247990, male
Diagnosis	Diagnosis. A small Brachymeles, 56.3 and 64.0 mm for two (apparently mature) males; MBSR 22; DSR 94-102; no external vestige of limbs; no ear opening; frontoparietals in moderate to broad contact; eye relatively large, ED 43-50% of SL. (Brown & Alcala 1995) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1381 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	Limb morphology: Limbless species. It differs from known species, other than Brachymeles vermis and B. apus, in the absence of external limbs. Brachymeles minimus differs from B. vermis and B. apus in its smaller size, lower dorsal scale row count, and pattern of head shields. Habitat: semifossorial and typically found in dry, rotting material inside or underneath decaying logs or in loose soil, forest floor detritus, and leaf litter of lowland forest.
References	Brown, W.C. & E.L. Alcala 1995. A new species of Brachymeles (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Catanduanes Island, Philippines [B. minimus]. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 108 (3): 392-394. - get paper here Siler, C. D.; D.S. Balete; A. C. Diesmos and R. M. Brown 2010. A New Legless Loam-swimming Lizard (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae: Genus Brachymeles) from the Bicol Peninsula, Luzon Island, Philippines. Copeia 2010 (1): 114–122 - get paper here Siler, Cameron D.; Arvin C. Diesmos, Angel C. Alcala and Rafe M. Brown 2011. Phylogeny of Philippine slender skinks (Scincidae: Brachymeles) reveals underestimated species diversity, complex biogeographical relationships, and cryptic patterns of lineage diversification. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59 (1): 53-65 - get paper here Siler, Cameron D.; Edmond L. Rico, Mariano R. Duya, and Rafe M. Brown 2009. A NEW LIMB-REDUCED, LOAM-SWIMMING SKINK (SQUAMATA: SCINCIDAE: BRACHYMELES) FROM CENTRAL LUZON ISLAND, PHILIPPINES. Herpetologica 65 (4): 449 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

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