Scelotes inornatus (SMITH, 1849)

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	Durban Dwarf Burrowing Skink, Legless Burrowing Skink
Synonym	Lithophilus inornatus SMITH 1849: 12 Herpetosaura inornata — GÜNTHER 1873 (part.) Scelotes inornatus — BOULENGER 1887: 415 Scelotes natalensis HEWITT 1921 Scelotes inornatus inornatus FITZSIMONS 1943: 199 Scelotes inornata — GREER 1970: 10 Scelotes brevipes — VISSER 1984: 72 (part.) Scelotes inornatus — BROADLEY 1994: 253 Scelotes inornatus — BATES et al. 2014: 275
Distribution	Republic of South Africa (coastal plain of N Natal), S Mozambique; only known from the vicinity of Durban (BAUER 2016). Type locality: “arid regions in the interior of South Africa” (probably in error for Port Natal fide BROADLEY 1994).
Reproduction	viviparous
Types	Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.21.20 (formerly 64.5.4.111), South Africa, presented Sir A. Smith.
Diagnosis
Comment	Belongs to the S. inornatus group. This species lost its forelimb entirely and retains only two digits on the hind limb.
Etymology
References	Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp. Bauer, Aaron M. 2016. On the taxonomic status of two enigmatic southern African fossorial skinks, Scelotes bicolor and S. schebeni African Journal of Herpetology 65 (1): 33-38 \| DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2016.1138149 - get paper here Boulenger, G. A. 1887. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London: 575pp. - get paper here Broadley, D. G. 1994. The genus Scelotes Fitzinger (Reptilia: Scincidae) in Mozambique, Swaziland and Natal, South Africa. Annals of the Natal Museum 35: 237-259. Günther, A. 1873. Notes on and descriptions of some lizards with rudimentary limbs, in the British Museum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) 12: 145-148 - get paper here Hewitt, J. 1921. On some lizards and arachnids of Natal. Ann. Durban Museum 3: 3-11 Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa. 3 (Reptiles). Smith, Elder, and Co., London [facsimile published by Winchester Press, Johannesburg, 1977] - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List - Scelotes inornatus - Endangered, EN Google images

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