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Chalcides chalcides (LINNAEUS, 1758)

IUCN Red List - Chalcides chalcides - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesChalcides chalcides chalcides (LINNAEUS 1758)
Chalcides chalcides vittatus (LEUCKART 1828) 
Common NamesE: Cylindrical Skink, Italian Three-toed Skink
G: Italienische Erzschleiche
Italian: luscengola comune 
SynonymLacerta Chalcides LINNAEUS 1758: 209
Chalcides tridactylus LAURENTI 1768
Chalcida vulgaris — MEYER 1795: 31
Seps chalcides BONAPARTE 1833 (fide BRYGOO 1985: 22)
Seps concolor METAXA 1833: 32
Seps tridactylus DAUDIN 1838
? Seps Chalcides — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 768
Seps (Seps) chalcides f. bilineata BOETTGER 1882
Chalcides lineatus — BOULENGER 1889: 305 (?)
Chalcides lineatus — BOULENGER 1891: 139
Chalcides tridactylus — BOULENGER 1891: 140
Chalcides tridactylus — SIEBENROCK 1895
Lyogsoma [sic] akeleyi MEEK 1897: 181 (fide LANZA 1988)
Lygosoma chalcides — DE ROOIJ 1915: 225
Chalcides tridactylus — WERNER 1931: 297
Chalcides lineatus — WERNER 1931: 297
Chalcides lineatus — LAURENT 1935: 347
Chalcides lineatus — HEDIGER 1935
Chalcides tridactylus — HEDIGER 1935
Chalcides tridactylus — STOKELY 1947
Chalcides tridactylus — BELLAIRS & SHUTE 1954
Chalcides chalcides concolor — KLAUSEWITZ 1954: 198
Chalcides chalcides — ORSINI & CHEYLAN 1981
Chalcides chalcides — ENGELMANN et al 1993
Chalcides chalcides — SCHLEICH, KÄSTLE & KABISCH 1996: 324
Chalcides chalcides — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008
Chalcides chalcides — SPEYBROECK et al. 2020

Chalcides chalcides vittatus (LEUCKART 1828)
Seps vittatus LEUCKART 1828
Chalcides chalcides vittatus — KLAUSEWITZ 1954: 198
Chalcides chalcides vittatus — CARRANZA et al. 2008
Chalcides chalcides vittatus — BAUER et al. 2017 
DistributionItaly (Sardinia, Elba)
N Tunisia, Libya, Algeria

Type locality: “Europa australi, Africa”

vittatus: NW Libya, Tunisia, Italy (introduced to Sardinia)  
Reproductionovovivparous. C chalcides has one of the most complex placentas of any reptile, reflecting the substantial placental transport of nutrients (Blackburn et al. 1993, 1994, 1997). 
TypesNeotype: MZUF 33238, adult male (fide CAPUTO 1993: 100)
Neotype: MZUF 29898, adult male (fide CAPUTO 1993: 102) [vittatus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): “Skinke [...] mit gestrecktem, teils schlangenartigem Körper und kurzen Extremitäten, die kräftig und fünfzehig oder reduziert mit variabler geringerer Zehenzahl ausgebildet sein können. Eine Art (C. guentheri) besitzt nur noch winzige, zehenlose und ungegliederte Beinrudimente. Ohröffnung ebenfalls immer vorhanden, aber bei manchen Arten winzig klein.” (in Böhme, ed., 1981: 308).


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CommentThe subspecies C. c. chalcides and C. c. mertensi are considered as "incipient" species by some authors (SCHLEICH et al. 1996). C.c. striatus and mertensi are treated as full species now. C. c. concolor was described by Klausewitz 1954 but rarely mentioned afterwards, so we assume it is a synonym of chalcides.

bilineata BOETTGER: Holotypus: SMF 15982 from “Palermo, Sizilien”.

Type species: Chalcides tridactylus LAURENTI 1768 is the type species of the genus Chalcides LAURENTI 1768.

Synonymy: Kaiser et al. 2013 considered the generic name Elfakhariscincus Hoser 2012 invalid and rejected its use instead of Chalcides.

Key: Werner 1931: 298 presented a key to the Moroccan species of Chalcides. 
EtymologyThe genus and species names are derived from Greek “chalkis”, a sort of bronze coloured (gr. chalkos: copper, bronze after the glossy colour). 
References
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