Mochlus tanae (LOVERIDGE, 1935)

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Lygosominae (Lygosomini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Loveridge's Writhing Skink, Tana River Writhing Skink
Synonym	Riopa tanae LOVERIDGE 1935: 11 Riopa tanae — SMITH 1937: 228 Riopa tanae — LANZA & CARFI 1966: 41 Lygosoma tanae — LANZA 1990 Lygosoma tanae — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 16 Lygosoma tanae — SPAWLS & ROTICH 1997 Lygosoma tanae — SPAWLS et al. 2002: 146 Mochlus tanae — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 155
Distribution	Somalia (Lanza 1990), Kenya (coastal areas) south to Ndungu, South Pare, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. Type locality: Kau, near Tana River mouth, Kenya.
Reproduction	ovovivparous
Types	Holotype: MCZ 40251, adult female
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: A very slender, attenuated species with small, pentadactyle limbs, the hind limb being included from 334 (young) to 6 (adult) times in the distance between the axilla and groin. A pair of supranasals form a suture separating the rostral from the frontonasal, nostril in a single nasal which forms a horizontal suture with the supranasal. Midbody scales smooth, in 22 to 24 rows.
Comment
Etymology	Named after the type locality.
References	Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70 Lanza, B. 1990. Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: check list and biogeography. Biogeographia, 14: 407-465 [1988] - get paper here Lanza, B. and Carfi, S. 1966. Note su alcuni Scincidae della Somalia e descrizione di una nuova specie di Mochlus (Reptilia, Squamata). Monit. zool. ital. Suppl. 74: 34-43. - get paper here Loveridge, A. 1935. Scientific results of an expedition to rain forest regions in Eastern Africa. I. New reptiles and amphibians from East Africa. Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harvard 79: 1- 19. - get paper here Smith, M.A. 1937. A review of the genus Lygosoma (Scincidae: Reptilia) and its allies. Records of the Indian Museum 39 (3): 213-234 Spawls, S. & Rotich, D. 1997. An annotated checklist of the lizards of Kenya. J. East African Nat. Hist. 86: 61-83 Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch& Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List Google images

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