Melanoseps sokokensis MALONZA, NYAMACHE & BWONG, 2024
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Melanoseps sokokensis
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Melanoseps sokokensis MALONZA, NYAMACHE & BWONG 2024 |
| Distribution | Kenya Type locality: Kenya, Kilifi County, near Gede Forest Station in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (3°17’40.56”S, 39°58’53.04”E; 36 m a.s.l.); |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: NMK–L3329, Field No. JN0068, adult; collected on 29 March 2010, by Joash Nyamache and Peter Mwasi and deposited in the collections of the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi. (figures 3 & 4) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The new species has 22 midbody scale rows, 142 ventral scales and 45 subcaudal scales. Snout-vent length 145 mm; tail length 40 mm; midbody diameter 8.3 mm; snout-vent length/tail length 3.6; colour entirely brown above and pale brown below. It is assignable to the genus Melanoseps on the basis of the nostril being pierced near posterior margin of rostral; supranasals in broad contact behind rostral; frontonasal in contact with frontal; interparietal very large and in contact with supraoculars; parietals divided (upper one larger), in contact behind interparietal; three supraoculars; three supraciliaries; no suboculars; five supralabials, the first largest; no external ear openings; eyes reduced, no upper eyelid, an elongate scaly lower eyelid present (Broadley & Howell 1991; Broadley et al., 2006). Melanoseps sokokensis sp. nov. is a medium-sized and robustly built species, with a rounded snout, exposed eyes and a broad rostral bordered posteriorly by a pair of supranasals that are themselves bordered posteriorly by a very large frontonasal. (Malonza et al. 2024) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3073 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality, Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. |
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