Ateuchosaurus chinensis GRAY, 1845
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Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae (Ateuchosauridae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Chinese short-limbed skink, Chinese Ateuchosaurus Chinese: 光蜥 |
Synonym | Ateuchosaurus chinensis GRAY 1845: 107 Lygosaurus sowerbyi STEJNEGER 1924 Lygosaurus salsburyi SCHMIDT 1925: 2 Mabuia albomaculata VOGT 1927 Ateuchosaurus chinensis — SMITH 1937: 231 Ateuchosaurus chinensis — LAZELL et al. 1999 Ateuchosaurus chinensis — NGUYEN et al. 2009 |
Distribution | China (Fujian west to Guizhou, south to Guangdong and Hainan); Vietnam (Mao Son, Lang Son Province). Type locality: China Type locality: “Nodoa, Hainan, China” [Lygosaurus salsburyi] |
Reproduction | |
Types | Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.15.69 (formerly xv.89a), collected J. Reeves. Holotype: USNM 65375 [sowerbyi] Holotype: AMNH 30198 [Lygosaurus salsburyi] |
Diagnosis | Description: Rostral wider than high, visible from above; supranasals absent; frontonasal wider than long, in contact with nasal, rostral, anterior loreal, prefrontal and frontal; prefrontals small, separated by frontal, touching both loreals laterally; frontal larger, frontal anteriorly truncated, constricted in the middle, approximately three times longer than wide, twice longer than frontoparietal and interparietal together, twice longer than its distance to tip of snout; frontoparietals separated from each other, as long as interparietal; a small transparent spot present on interparietal; parietals small, in contact posteriorly; nuchals absent; nostril in a single nasal, with rostral, first supralabial, anterior loreal, and frontonasal; loreals 2; preocular 1; supraoculars 4, following by a small postsupraocular; supraciliaries 8; lower eyelid scaly; supralabials 6, fourth longest and right below the eye; ear opening small, oval, tympanum deeply sunk; mental wider than long, rounded anteriorly, in contact with first infralabial and postmental; infralabials 7; postmental undivided; chin shields in 2 pairs; ventral scales in 30 rows at midbody, slightly smaller than ventrals; paravertebral scales 50–52; ventrals in 52–58 transverse rows, smooth; precloacals six or seven, not enlarged; subdigital lamellae smooth, nine on fourth finger and 15–18 on fourth toe; tail thick at base, tapering to a fine point; subcaudals not enlarged, smooth (Pham et al. 2018). Colouration in life. Dorsal head, body and base of tail brownish, each scale with a darker spot in the centre; neck blackish with white spots laterally; flanks mottled with some black and white spots; ventral surface cream (Pham et al. 2018). |
Comment | Plate 29D in ZHAO & ADLER 1993. Type species: Ateuchosaurus chinensis GRAY 1845 is the type species of the genus Ateuchosaurus GRAY 1845. For diagnostic features see MITTLEMAN 1952: 8. Hedges (2014) erected the family Ateuchosauridae for the genus Ateuchosaurus which becomes the type genus of the family. Distribution: see map in Makino et al. 2020 (Fig 1). |
Etymology | Named after its distribution in China. |
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