Cryptoblepharus metallicus (BOULENGER, 1887)
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Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Metallic snake-eyed skink |
Synonym | Ablepharus boutoni metallicus BOULENGER 1887: 347 Ablepharus boutonii metallicus — WAITE 1929 Ablepharus boutoni metallicus – MERTENS 1931: 119 Ablepharus boutoni metallicus – LOVERIDGE 1934: 375 Ablepharus boutoni metallicus – MITCHELL 1964: 337 Ablepharus boutoni metallicus – WORRELL 1963: 35; Ablepharus boutoni metallicus – MERTENS 1964: 106. Cryptoblepharus boutonii metallicus – COGGER & LINDNER 1974: 83. Cryptoblepharus metallicus – WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 27. Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – COGGER et al. 1983: 142 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – WILSON & KNOWLES 1988: 120 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – HORNER 1991: 18 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – COVACEVICH & COUPER 1991: 357; Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – EHMANN 1992: 182 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – STANGER et al. 1998: 23 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – COGGER 2000: 406 Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus – WILSON & SWAN 2003: 148 Cryptoblepharus metallicus — HORNER 2007: 93 |
Distribution | Australia (from inland south-eastern Queensland, through eastern and northern Queensland, the northern half of the Northern Territory to the Kimberley region of Western Australia) Type locality: most likely on the bank of the Victoria River, near the present-day town of Timber Creek, Northern Territory (see comment). |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Lectotype: BMNH 57.10.24.38. Designated by Wells & Wellington (1985). |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A large (45–50 mm SVL), short-legged, shallow-headed, arboreal Cryptoblepharus, distinguished from Australian congeners by combination of modal values of six supraciliary scales, 24 mid-body scale rows and 48 paravertebral scales; mean values of hindlimb length 41.4% of snout-vent length, head depth 41.7% of head length, tail length 144.2% of snout-vent length; smooth subdigital lamellae; rounded, usually callused plantar scales; greyish, longitudinally aligned body pattern and being arboreal. (Horner 2007) Additional details (10169 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
Comment | Sympatry. C. ruber, C. cygnatus, C. juno, C. adamsi, C. exochus, C. l. horneri, C. l. litoralis, C. mertensi, C. pannosus, C. pulcher, C. tytthos, C. virgatus and C. zoticus. Distribution: No type locality was given, though the general area can be determined from the expedition’s journal (Gregory and Gregory 1884). Synonymy: Storr (1976) synonymised A. b. metallicus with C. plagiocephalus. |
Etymology | Presumably named after the Latin metallicus (metallic) referring to the metallic sheen of the dorsal scales. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) |
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