Acontias kgalagadi (LAMB, BISWAS & BAUER, 2010)
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Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Acontiinae (Acontidae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Kalahari Burrowing Skink, Kgalagadi Legless Skink |
Synonym | Typhlosaurus lineatus BOULENGER 1887: 432 Typhlosaurus lineatus — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958 Typhlosaurus lineatus — HUEY et al. 1974 Typhlosaurus lineatus lineatus — AUERBACH 1987: 105 Acontias kgalagadi kgalagadi LAMB et al. 2010 (nom. nov.) Acontias kgalagadi kgalagadi — BATES et al. 2014: 242 Acontias kgalagadi — ZHAO et al. 2023 |
Distribution | W Namibia, Botswana (Kalahari), CN Republic of South Africa (N Transvaal, N Cape), E Angola Type locality: “"Cape of Good Hope" |
Reproduction | ovovivparous |
Types | Holotype: BMNH 69.2.4.1, collector unknown (Typhlosaurus lineatus) |
Diagnosis | |
Comment | Habitat: Burrowing, confined to the sandveld. Nomenclature: A. kgalaagadi is a replacement name for this species due to transfer to Acontias, where lineatus is a junior homonym. Limb morphology: Limbless. Distribution: not in Zambia fide WAGNER et al. 2012. Synonymy: When transferred to Acontias, Typhlosaurus lineatus Boulenger 1887— originally described and, until now, treated as Typhlosaurus lineatus (e.g., FitzSimons 1943; Branch 1998) and Acontophiops lineatus Sternfeld 1912—are junior secondary homonyms of A. lineatus Peters, 1879. As no junior synonyms exist for Acontias (formerly Typhlosaurus) lineatus (De Witte & Laurent 1943; FitzSimons 1943; Broadley 1968), Lamb et al. 2010 proposed Acontias kgalagadi nom. nov. as a replacement name. |
Etymology | Named after its distribution in the Kalahari (”Kgalagadi”). Note that this is a new name (nomen novum) for A. lineatus. |
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