Typhlacontias punctatissimus BOCAGE, 1873
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Typhlacontias punctatissimus
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | Typhlacontias punctatissimus punctatissimus BOCAGE 1873 Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti LAURENT 1964 Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei HAACKE 1997 |
| Common Names | E: Speckled Western Burrowing Skink, Dotted Blind Dart Skink bogerti: Bogert’s Western Burrowing Skink |
| Synonym | Typhlacontias punctatissimus BOCAGE 1873: 213 Typhlacontias punctatissimus — GREER 1970 Typhlacontias punctatissimus punctatissimus — HAACKE 1997 Typhlacontias punctatissimus — WHITING et al. 2003 Typhlacontias punctatissimus punctatissimus — MARQUES et al. 2018 Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti LAURENT 1964 Typhlacontias bogerti LAURENT 1964 Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti — HAACKE 1997 Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti — MARQUES et al. 2018 Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti — LOBÓN-ROVIRA et al. 2022 Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei HAACKE 1997 Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei — BÖHME 2014: 157 |
| Distribution | S Angola, NW Namibia (from NW Koakoveld), SW Angola bogerti: SW Angola; Type locality: “35 km S of Moçamedes (= Namibé)”, Angola. brainei: Namibia; Type locality: Khumib River 25 km from the coast, Skeleton Coast Park, Opuwo District, Namibia, 18°44'S 12°36'E (1812Da), elevation up to 600 m. Type locality: Rio Curoca mouth, Moçamedes district, Angola |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Syntypes: MB (Museu Bocage) (2 specimens) catalogue numbers unknown (collector J.A. d’Anchieta), destroyed by fire 18 March 1978 (Museo de Bocage, Lisbon) Types: MD (Dundo Museum, Angola [bogerti] Holotype: DNMNH (= TM) 68443, collected by W. D. Haacke, 11. 4. 1989; Paratypes in ZFMK, DNMNH (= TM) and NMNW (formerly SMWN) [brainei] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Skull characters: Palatine bones only slightly longer than wide, separated medially; palatal rami of pterygoids expanded laterally, but not meeting medially, and emarginated posteriorly (gracilis) or not (brevipes and ngamiensis); pterygoid teeth absent (Fig. 6 in GREER 1970). Postorbital and jugal bones lacking; supratcmporal arch weak and fenestra obliterated by the apposition of the bones in the supratemporal arch with the parietal; fixe to six maxillary teeth. External characters: Interparietal large, touching supraoculars; three median, transversely enlarged head scales between the rostral and interparietal instead of a pair of supranasals and two median, transversely enlarged head scales; no external ear opening; limbless except for T. brevipes, which has a rudimentary hind leg [from GREER 1970]. A more recent diagnosis is provided by HAACKE 1997: 140. Diagnosis (punctatissimus): The most slender of those species characterised by the enlarged second lower labial and the laterally strongly notched rostral, s. a. T. brevipes and T. johnsonii. Large frontal, nearly semicircular with straight posterior edge. In this subspecies usually only the third upper labial enters eye. Rudimentary hindlimbs may occur [HAACKE 1997: 147] Diagnosis (bogerti): A slender form with enlarged second lower labial scale and general characteristics described for the typical form but second and third upper labial in touch with eye [HAACKE 1997: 150] Diagnosis (brainei): In general appearance and characteristics similar to the typical form but upper labials 2 and 3 appear to have fused, resulting in five, instead of six upper labials and the large second upper labial is in contact with the eye. Preocular absent or minute and partly covered by loreal. Eye usually in touch with the least number of scales of all taxa, namely second upper labial, loreal, anterior supraocular and two postoculars [HAACKE 1997: 151] |
| Comment | Type species: Typhlacontias punctatissimus BOCAGE 1873 is the type species of the genus Typhlacontias BOCAGE 1873. Skull morphology: for a comparison of African burrowing skinks see Stepanova & Bauer 2021. |
| Etymology | Referring to its speckled colour pattern. bogerti: Named in honour of renowned American herpetologist Dr Charles M. Bogert. brainei: Named after Mr Steve Braine, former ranger of the Skeleton Coast Park, Namibia, for his contribution towards the knowledge of the fauna of that area during his term of office there. |
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