You are here » home › advanced search › Saproscincus mustelinus

Saproscincus mustelinus (O’SHAUGHNESSY, 1874)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Saproscincus mustelinus?

Add your own observation of
Saproscincus mustelinus »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Weasel Shadeskink, Weasel Skink, Southern Weasel Skink 
SynonymMocoa mustelina O’SHAUGHNESSY 1874: 299
Lygosoma (Mocoa) orichalceum BOETTGER 1878
Lygosoma (Mocoa) sonderi PETERS 1878: 191
Lygosoma (Mocoa) lacrymans PETERS & DORIA 1878: 348
Mocoa mustelina — O’SHAUGHNESSY 1879: 300
Liolepisma mustelinum — LUCAS & FROST 1894: 72
Lygosoma (Liolepisma) pseudotropis WERNER 1903: 247 (non Mocoa pseudotropis GÜNTHER 1875)
Lygosoma (Liolepisma) mustelinum — WERNER 1910: 44
Lygosoma paraeneum AHL 1925 (nom. nov. pro Lygosoma (L.) pseudotropis)
Lygosoma (Leiolopisma) mustelinum — SMITH 1937: 223
Lygosoma mustelinum — BRATTSTROM 1971
Lampropholis mustelina — GREER 1974: 21
Lampropholis mustelina — COGGER 1983: 168
Saproscincus mustelinus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1983
Saproscincus mustelina — COGGER 2000: 574
Saproscincus mustelinus — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Saproscincus mustelinus — COGGER 2014: 682 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Victoria)

Type locality: New South Wales  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: BMNH 1946.8.16.86 (formerly 64.7.9.19), Sydney, NSW, presented A. Günther. Designation by Wells & Wellington (1985).
Holotype: SMF 14675 (or 14657?), from Australia [Lygosoma (Mocoa) orichalceum].
Holotype: ZMB 9374, from Port Phillip, Vic. [Lygosoma (Mocoa) sonderi]
Holotype: MSNG 27967, from Mt. Victoria, N. S. W. [lacrymans].
Holotype: RIB 1105, from N. S. W. [Lygosoma (Liolepisma) pseudotropis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Saproscincus is a genus of small semi-cryptozoic skinks inhabiting relictual rainforest and montane habitats along east coastal Australia. Separated from Lampropholis with which they have been included in the past, by the possession of the following characters: fronto-parietals separated; fingers 4 or 5; hind limb pentadactyl; transparent palpebral disk in lower eyelid reduced; nasals separated at least anteriorly; mid-body scales smooth in 21-28 mid-body rows; SVL 30 to 50 mm. (WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984: 102)


Additional details (54 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentType species: Mocoa mustelina O’SHAUGHNESSY 1874: 299 is the type species of the genus Saproscincus WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Greek mustela (a weasel) plus the feminine diminutive suffix -ina, alluding to the elongate body shape of this species. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Ahl, E. 1925. Herpetologische Notizen.Snakes and other reptiles and amphibians. Zool. Anz. 65 (1/2): 18-20
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • Boettger, O. 1879. Studien über neue oder wenig bekannte Eidechsen l. Jahresbericht des Offenbacher Vereins für Naturkunde, (17-18):1-12 [1878]
  • Brattstrom, B.H. 1971. Critical thermal maxima of some Australian skinks Copeia 1971 (3): 554-557. - get paper here
  • Capocaccia, L. 1961. Catalogo dei tipi di Rettili del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova [MSNG]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Giacomo Doria 72: 86-111 - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Couper, P., Covacevich, J., Amey, A. & Baker, A. 2006. The genera of skinks (Family Scincidae) of Australia and its island territories: diversity, distribution and identification. in: Merrick, J.R., Archer, M., Hickey, G.M. & Lee, M.S.Y. (eds.). Evolution and Zoogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. Australian Scientific Publishing, Sydney, pp. 367-384
  • Greer, A.E. 1974. The generic relationships of the scincid lizard genus Leiolopisma and its relatives. Australian Journal of Zoology 31: 1-67. - get paper here
  • Hutchinson, M.N. 1979. The reptiles of Kinglake National Park. Victorian Naturalist 96: 124-134 - get paper here
  • Lucas, A. H. S. & Frost, C. 1894. The lizards indigenous to Victoria. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. (ns) 6: 24-92 - get paper here
  • Murphy, Michael J. 1994. Reptiles and amphibians of Seven Mile Beach National park, NSW. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 24 (2): 24-30
  • Murphy, Michael J. 2010. ADDITIONS TO THE HERPETOFAUNA OF GORE CREEK RESERVE AND LANE COVE BUSHLAND PARK IN INNER SUBURBAN SYDNEY, NSW. Herpetofauna 40 (2): 103-110 - get paper here
  • O’Shaughnessy,A.W.E. 1874. A description of a new species of Scincidae in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 13: 298-301 - get paper here
  • O’Shaughnessy,A.W.E. 1879. Description of new species of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5) 4: 295-303 - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1878. Über zwei Scincoiden aus Australien und eine neue Amphisbaena von Westafrika. Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin. 1878 (November): 191-192 - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig and G. Doria. 1878. Catalogo dei retilli e dei batraci raccolti da O. Beccari, L. M. D'Alberts e A. A. Bruijn. nella sotto-regione Austro-Malese. Annali del Museo Civico de Storia Naturale di Genova. ser. 1, 13: 323-450 - 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
  • Stewart, James R. and Tom W. Ecay 2010. Patterns of maternal provision and embryonic mobilization of calcium in oviparous and viviparous squamate reptiles. Herp. Cons. Biol. 5 (2) - get paper here
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • Wells R W; Wellington C R 1984. A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology 1 (3-4): 73-129 [31 Dec 1983 on cover]
  • Werner, F. 1903. Neue Reptilien und Batrachier aus dem naturhistorischen Museum in Brüssel. Zool. Anz. 26: 246-253 - get paper here
  • Werner,F. 1910. Über neue oder seltene Reptilien des Naturhistorischen Museums in Hamburg. ii. Eidechsen. Jahrb. Hamburg. Wiss. Anst., vol. 27 (1909), suppl. no. 2, 1910, pp. 1-46; reprinted: 1910, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, vol. 27: 205-) - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator