Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Taylor's Short-legged Skink |
Synonym | Brachymeles gracilis taylori BROWN 1956 Brachymeles gracilis taylori — BROWN & RABOR 1967: 541 Brachymeles boulengeri taylori — BROWN & ALCALA 1980 Brachymeles boulengeri taylori — ALCALA et al. 2004 Brachymeles boulengeri taylori — SILER et al. 2009 Brachymeles taylori — SILER et al. 2010 Brachymeles boulengeri taylori — GAULKE 2011 Brachymeles taylori — SILER et al. 2011 |
Distribution | Philippines (Negros Island, Cebu, Inampulugan, Pan de Azucar, Danjugan, Ponson, Poro, Panay)
Type locality: low ridge on the north side of the Maite River, about 13 kilometers west of Dumaguete on Cuernos de Negros, Negros Oriental, Province, Negros Island, Philippines, 600-m elevation, 9° 17’ 32.96’’ N, 123° 14’ 2.4’’ E.
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Reproduction | viviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
Types | Holotype: CAS-SUR 18615. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis. Brachymeles taylori can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) body size moderate (SVL 65.8–99.2 mm); (2) pentadac- tyl; (3) Finger-III lamellae five or six; (4) Toe- IV lamellae nine or 10; (5) moderate limb length; (6) supralabials six; (7) infralabials seven; (8) pineal eye spot present; (9) supranasals not contacting on midline; (10) prefrontals not contacting on midline; (11) enlarged chin shields in two pairs; (12) nuchal scales undifferentiated; (13) fourth and fifth supralabial below eye; (14) auricular opening present; (15) dorsolateral stripes absent; and (16) continuous, dark middorsal stripes pres- ent (Tables 4 and 5 in SILER & BROWN 2010).
For further comparison see SILER & BROWN 2010. |
Comment | Pentadactyl species.
Sympatric species: Brachymeles cebuensis, B. talinis, B. tridactylus.
No etymology is given in the original description,
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. |
Etymology | Probably dedicated to Dr. Edward Harrison Taylor (1889-1978), who is mentioned and cited several times in Browns publication. |
References |
- Alcala, E.L.; Alcala, A.C. & Dolino, C.N. 2004. Amphibians and Reptiles in tropical rainforest fragments on Negros Island, the Philippines. Env. Cons.31 (3): 254-261 - 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
- Brown WC & RABOR DS 1967. Review of the genus Brachymeles (Sauria), with descriptions of new species and subspecies. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (4) 34: 525-548 - get paper here
- Brown, Walter C. 1956. A revision of the genus Brachymeles (Scincidae), with descriptions of new species and subspecies. Breviora (54): 1-19 - get paper here
- Brown, WC. & A.C. ALCALA 1980. Philippine Lizards of the family Scincidae. Silliman Univ. Nat. Sci., Dumaguete City, Mon., Ser. 2: i-xi + 1-246.
- Gaulke, M. 2011. The herpetofauna of Panay Island, Philippines. Edition Chimaira, 390 pp.
- Siler, Cameron D. and Rafe M. Brown 2010. Phylogeny-based Species Delimitation in Philippine Slender Skinks (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae: Brachymeles): Taxonomic Revision of Pentadactyl Species Groups and Description of Three New Species. Herpetological Monographs 24 (1): 1-54 - 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
- Siler, Cameron D.; Robin M. Jones, Arvin C. Diesmos, Mae L. Diesmos, and Rafe M. Brown 2012. Phylogeny-Based Species Delimitation In Philippine Slender Skinks (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) III: Taxonomic Revision of the Brachymeles Gracilis Complex, With Descriptions of Three New Species. Herpetological Monographs 26 (1): 135-172. - get paper here
- SUPSUP, Christian E.; Nevong M. PUNA, Augusto A. ASIS, Bernard R. REDOBLADO, Maria Fatima G. PANAGUINIT, Faith M. GUINTO, Edmund B. RICO, Arvin C. DIESMOS, Rafe M. BROWN and Neil Aldrin D. MALLARI 2016. Amphibians and Reptiles of Cebu, Philippines: The Poorly Understood Herpetofauna of an Island with Very Little Remaining Natural Habitat. Asian Herpetological Research 2016, 7(3): 151–179 DOI: 10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.150049 - get paper here
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