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Emoia sanfordi SCHMIDT & BURT, 1930

IUCN Red List - Emoia sanfordi - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Sanford's Emo Skink 
SynonymEmoia sanfordi SCHMIDT & BURT 1930
Emoia sanfordi — MEDWAY & MARSCHALL 1975
Emoia sanfordi — ADLER, AUSTIN & DUDLEY 1995
Emoia sanfordi — INEICH 2009 
DistributionVanuatu (Banks Is. and New Hebrides), Fauro, Toga, Tegua Islands

Type locality: Elephant and Espiritu Santo Islands, Vanuatu.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: AMNH 42957, paratype: MSNG 37634 
DiagnosisDescription: midbody scale rows 0-2, fourth toe lamel- lae 62-72; always five supralabials in front of the subocular; interparietal always present; parietal suture and nuchal suture oriented left. All examined specimens show a high uniformity for scalation characteristics but not for coloration going from uni- form green to almost completely and nearly uniform greyish. When few black marks are present they are restricted to the head area and to some parts of the back and flanks, with black punctuations only concerning some scales. Prefrontals are always in wide contact. Anterior and posterior loreals are identical, flat and elongate but the anterior is higher; supranasals are largely separated and prefrontals fused. Juveniles are sometimes uniform green or uniform dark brown to almost black. The throat is sometimes more or less marbled. Differences between E. nigra and E. sanfordi can be seen above (see E. nigra). I can add that the tail is rather circular or subcircular in section in E. sanfordi whereas it is rather laterally flattened in E. nigra (Ineich 2011). 
CommentSimilar species: Before its description, specimens of Emoia sanfordi from Vanuatu were refered to Emoia samoense by Roux in 191, Baker in 1928, and Angel in 195. Specimens from Erromango were regarded as E. samoensis by Lord Medway in 1972, and later as Emoia trossula by Brown and Gibbons during their description of that species.

Habitat: uniform grey specimens were usually associated with deeper and dense forest.

Distribution: not listed for the Solomon Islands by McCoy 2015. 
References
  • Adler,G.H.; Austin,C.C. & Dudley,R. 1995. Dispersal and speciation of skinks among archipelagos in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Evolutionary Ecology 9: 529-541 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Brown W C 1991. Lizards of the genus Emoia (Scincidae) with observations on their evolution and biogeography. MEMOIRS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (No. 15) 1991: i-vi, 1-94 - get paper here
  • Capocaccia, L. 1961. Catalogo dei tipi di Rettili del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova [MSNG]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Giacomo Doria 72: 86-111
  • Ineich, I. 2009. The terrestrial herpetofauna of Torres and Banks Groups (northern Vanuatu), with report of a new species for Vanuatu. Zootaxa 2198: 1-15 - get paper here
  • Ineich, I. 2011. Amphibians and reptiles. In: Bouchet P., Le Guyader H. & PascaL O. (eds), The Natural History of Santo. pp. 187-236. MNhN, Paris; Ird, Marseille; PNI, Paris. 572 pp. (Patrimoines naturels; 70).
  • Lord Medway, & Marshall, A.G. 1975. Terrestrial vertebrates of the New Hebrides: origin and distribution. Roy. Soc. of London, Philosophical Trans. (Ser. B) 272: 423-465.
  • McCoy, M. 1980. Reptiles of the Solomon Islands. Wau Ecology Institute Handbook 7. Wau Ecology Institute, Wau, Papua New Guinea.
  • McCoy, M. 2006. Reptiles of the Solomon Islands. Pensoft Series Faunistica 57, 212 pp.
  • McCoy, M. 2015. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of the Solomon Islands. Michael McCoy, Kuranda - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Karl P. & Burt, Charles E. 1930. Herpetological results of the Whitney South Sea Expedition V. Description of Emoia sanfordi, a new lizard from islands of the Western pacific (Scincidæ). American Museum Novitates (436): 1-3 - get paper here
  • Zug, G. R., I. Ineich, G. Pregill, and A. M. Hamilton. 2012. Lizards of Tonga and a description of a new Tongan treeskink (Squamata: Scincidae: Emoia samoensis Group). Pacific Science 66(2):225-237 - get paper here
  • Zug, G.R. 2012. A new species of treeskink (Squamata: Scincidae: Emoia samoensis species group) from Rotuma, south-central Pacific. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 125(1):74-84 - get paper here
  • Zug, G.R. & I. Ineich 1995. A new skink (Emoia: Lacertilia: Reptilia) from the forest of Fiji. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 108 (3): 395-400. - get paper here
  • ZUG, GEORGE R.; ALISON M. HAMILTON & CHRISTOPHER C. AUSTIN 2011. A new Emoia samoensis group lizard (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Cook Islands, South-central Pacific. Zootaxa 2765: 47–57 - get paper here
 
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