You are here » home › advanced search › Lankascincus deignani

Lankascincus deignani (TAYLOR, 1950)

IUCN Red List - Lankascincus deignani - Endangered, EN
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Lankascincus deignani?

Add your own observation of
Lankascincus deignani »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaScincidae, Ristellinae (Ristellini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Deignan Tree Skink 
SynonymSphenomorphus deignani TAYLOR 1950: 497
Lankascincus deignani — GREER 1991
Lankascincus deignani — DAS 1996: 46
Sphenomorphus deignani — DAS 1996: 48
Lankascincus deignani — AUSTIN et al. 2004
Lankascincus greeri BATUWITA & PETHIYAGODA 2007
Lankascincus greeri — BATUWITA 2019: 247
Lankascincus deignani — BATUWITA 2019: 229 
DistributionSri Lanka (forests around Kandy)

Type locality: Mount Gannoruwa (Gangarowa ?), Peradeniya, Kandy District, Ceylon.

greeri: Sri Lanka; Type locality: Kombala-Kottawa Forest Reserve near Hiyaré, Galle (Southern Province), 06º04’N, 80º15’E, 60 m elevation.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 120326
Holotype: NMSL (= WHT) 6524 (adult male), 52.0 mm SVL, 04 April, 2003, coll. S. Batuwita [greeri] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Distinguished from all other Lankascincus by the following combination of characters: prefrontals in contact; pre- frontal wider than long; frontonasal as large as prefrontals together; frontoparietals two; supraciliaries 9–10; primary temporal one; secondary temporals two, in contact; supra- labials seven; last supralabial subequal to the preceding supralabial; postsupralabials two; paravertebrals 43–48; ventral scales 55–57; transverse scale rows across mid- body 28; subdigital lamellae under fourth digit of pes 19–20; maximum SVL 58.0 mm; body color reddish brown; ventral side yellowish brown; lacking a dorsolateral stripe in male; lacking subocular spot; forelimb length 21.8–25.9% of SVL; and hind-limb length 29.1–34.5% of SVL (Batuwita 2019: 229).


Additional details (2466 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: Previous records of L. deignani from Nuwaraeliya and surrounding localities were reidentified as L. sripadensis by Butawita 2019.

Synonymy: Kanishka et al. 2020 synonymized L. greeri with L. deignani. 
EtymologyNamed after Herbert "Bert" Girton Deignan (1906-1968) who worked for the U.S. National Museum (1938-1962) and spent 1928-1932 and 1935-1937 in Thailand teaching English. In between he worked at the Library of Congress (1934-1935). He retired to live in Switzerland.

L. greeri was named after Allan E. Greer of the Australian Museum, in recognition of his many contributions to the taxonomy of Scincidae. The name is Latinized as a noun in the genitive singular case. 
References
  • Austin, C.C.; Das, I. & De Silva, A. 2004. Higher-level molecular phylogenetic relationships of the endemic genus Lankascincus from Sri Lanka based on nuclear DNA sequences. Lyriocephalus 5 (1-2): 11-22 [special issue] - get paper here
  • Batuwita, Sudesh 2019. A REVIEW OF THE LIZARDS OF THE ENDEMIC GENUS LANKASCINCUS (REPTILIA: SCINCIDAE: LYGOSOMINAE) FROM SRI LANKA. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 162(3), (8 April 2019) - get paper here
  • Batuwita, Sudesh and Rohan Pethiyagoda 2007. Description of new species of Sri Lankan Litter Skink (Squamata: Scincidae: Lankascincus). Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 36(2):80-87
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Botejue, W. Madhava S.; Jayantha Wattavidanage 2012. Herpetofaunal diversity and distribution in Kalugala proposed forest reserve, Western province of Sri Lanka. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 5 (2): 65-80(e38). - get paper here
  • Das, Indraneil & Abhijit Das 2017. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Reptiles of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 176 pp.
  • Greer A E 1991. Lankascincus, a new genus of scincid lizards from Sri Lanka, with descriptions of three new species. Journal of Herpetology 25 (1): 59-64 - get paper here
  • Karunarathna, D. M. S. S. and A. A. T. Amarasinghe 2012. Reptile diversity in Beraliya Mukalana proposed forest reserve, Galle District - Sri Lanka. Taprobanica 4 (1): 20-26 - get paper here
  • Somaweera, R. & Somaweera, N. 2009. Lizards of Sri Lanka: a colour guide with field keys. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 304 pp.
  • Taylor, Edward H. 1950. Ceylones lizards of the family Scincidae. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 33 (2): 481-518 - get paper here
  • Wickramasinghe, L.J. MENDIS; Rodrigo, R.; Dayawansa, N. & Jayantha, U.L.D. 2007. Two new species of Lankascincus (Squamata: Scincidae) from Sripada Sanctuary (Peak Wilderness), in Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 1612: 1–24 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator