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Kaestlea bilineata (GRAY, 1846)

IUCN Red List - Kaestlea bilineata - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Sphenomorphinae (Sphenomorphini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Two-lined Ground Skink 
SynonymMocoa bilineata GRAY 1846: 430
Eumeces bilineatus — GÜNTHER 1864
Lygosoma bilineatum — BOULENGER 1887: 259
Leiolopisma bilineatum — SMITH 1935: 306
Scincella bilineata — GREER 1974
Scincella bilineatum — DAS 1996: 48
Kaestlea bilineata — EREMCHENKO & DAS 2004 
DistributionIndia (Nilgiri Hills, Travancore Hills, Kerala)

Type locality: “Madras”, at present Chennai, Tamil Nadu, SE India (13° 5’ N, 80° 17’ E); restricted to “Summit of the Nilgiris” by EREMCHENKO & DAS 2004.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: BMNH 1946.8.17.71, designated by Eremchenko & Das (2004) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): A member of Sphenomorphus group of lygosomine scincids and a derived member of the variegatus species-group (sensu Greer, 1974; 1979) showing similarities to the primarily Asian Scincella-like and Ablepharus-like species groups (genera: Asymblepharus and Scincella [sensu Eremchenko, 1987]), but differing from them in having the following combination of characters: A). Group II alpha palate (sensu Greer, 1974); lower eyelid with a clear window; nuchals and Group I temporal scales (Greer, 1974); two frontoparietals, or frontoparietal single; prefrontals small and separated; tympanum slightly or deeply sunk; limbs well-developed; scales around midbody 20-30; and middle neck and dorsum 26-41; four enlarged preanals, central pair larger than lateral pair. B). premaxillary teeth nine; pterygoid teeth rudimentary, 0-5; postorbitals present, elongated, thin; greater part of dorsal surface of digits with 1-2 rows of scales (Fig. 2) sharing characters with Group I and III (sensu Brongersma, 1942: Fig. 1b-d) fifth and sixth supralabial in midorbital position; size small, SVL to 62.0 mm; tail bright blue [EREMCHENKO & DAS 2004]. 
CommentSynonymy mostly that of OUBOTER (1986).

Type Species: Mocoa bilineata GRAY 1846 is the type species of the genus Kaestlea EREMCHENKO & DAS 2004.

Phylogenetics: for a phylogenetic analysis of the position of Kaestlea see Ghosh et al. 2023. 
EtymologyApparently named after the two dorsal stripes in this species.

The name of the new genus honours Professor Werner Kästle (1926-2019), German herpetologist, co-editor of the volume ‘Amphibians and reptiles of Nepal.’ (2002), among many other publications. For a brief biography see Kabisch 2019. 
References
  • 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
  • Boulenger, George A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. - get paper here
  • Eremchenko, V. K & I. Das 2004. Kaestlea: a new genus of scincid lizards (Scincidae: Lygosominae) from the Western Ghats, south-western India. Hamadryad 28 (1&2): 43-50 - get paper here
  • Ganesh, S.R.; S. Bhupathy, P. Karthik, G. Babu Rao & S. Babu 2020. Catalogue of herpetological specimens from peninsular India at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History (SACON), India. JoTT 12 (9): 16123–16135 - get paper here
  • Ghosh, A., Sil, M., Ukuwela, K. B., & Datta‐Roy, A. 2023. Independent origins or single dispersal? Phylogenetic study supports early Cenozoic origin of three endemic Indo‐Sri Lankan Lygosomine skink genera. Zoologica Scripta - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1846. Descriptions of some new species of Indian Lizards. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 18: 429-430 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1864. The Reptiles of British India. London (Taylor & Francis), xxvii + 452 pp. - get paper here
  • Kabisch, K. 2019. Nachruf auf Werner Kästle. Elaphe 2019 (4): 94
  • Ouboter P E 1986. A revision of the genus Scincella (Reptilia: Sauria: Scincidae) of Asia, with some notes on its evolution. Zoologische Verhandelingen (229): 1-66 - get paper here
  • Palot, M.J. 2015. A checklist of reptiles of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(13): 8010–8022 - get paper here
  • Shea, Glenn M. and Allen E. Greer 2002. From Sphenomorphus to Lipinia: Generic reassignment of two poorly known New Guinea skinks. Journal of Herpetology 36 (2): 148-156 - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1935. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptiles and Amphibia, Vol. II. Sauria. Taylor and Francis, London, 440 pp.
  • Venugopal, P.D. 2010. An updated and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2 (3): 725-738. - get paper here
 
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