Melanoseps loveridgei BRYGOO & ROUX-ESTÈVE, 1982

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Higher Taxa	Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Loveridge’s limbless skink
Synonym	Melanoseps loveridgei BRYGOO & ROUX-ESTÈVE 1982: 1183 Melanoseps ater — Loveridge 1933: 326 (part, not Günther) Melanoseps loveridgei — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 14 Melanoseps loveridgei — SPAWLS et al. 2001 Melanoseps loveridgei — BROADLEY et al. 2006 Melanoseps loveridgei — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 173 Melanoceps loveridgei — OLLONEN et al. 2024 (in error)
Distribution	S Tanzania, NE Zambia Type locality: Liwale, Tanzania.
Reproduction	ovovivparous
Types	Holotype: BMNH 1961.744
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: This is a wide-ranging savannah species intermediate in both size and scale counts between the large montane forest forms of theM. atergroup and the dwarfed forms of the M. rondoensis group, which inhabit coastal forests. Midbody scale rows 17-22; ventrals 130-149; subcaudals 42-52. Snout-vent/tail length ratio 2.68-3.97 [from BROADLEY et al. 2006].
Comment	Limb morphology: limbless.
Etymology	Named after Arthur Loveridge (1891-1980), American herpetologist.
References	Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70 Brygoo E R; Roux-Esteve R 1982. Un genre de lezards scincines d'Afrique: Melanoseps. Bulletin du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle SECTION A ZOOLOGIE BIOLOGIE ET ECOLOGIE ANIMALES 3 (4) 1981: 1169-1191 Lyakurwa, J.V., Howell, K.M., Munishi, L.K., Treydte, A.C. 2019. Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve; a unique hotspot for reptiles in Tanzania. Acta Herpetologica 14 (1): 3-14 - get paper here Lyakurwa, John Valentine 2017. The Reptiles of the Uzungwa Scarp Forest Reserve (USFR): An Updated Checklist with Notes on Dagger-Tooth Vine Snake Xyelodontophis uluguruensis. Journal of East African Natural History 106(2):57-65. - get paper here Malonza, Vincent; Beryl A. Bwong, Vincent Muchai 2011. Kitobo Forest of Kenya, a unique hotspot of herpetofaunal divers. Acta Herpetologica 6 (2): 149-160 - get paper here Ollonen, J., Khannoon, E. R., Macrì, S., Vergilov, V., Kuurne, J., Saarikivi, J., ... & Di-Poï, N. 2024. Dynamic evolutionary interplay between ontogenetic skull patterning and whole-head integration. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1-16 - get paper here Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373 Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here Wagner, Philipp; Donald G. Broadley, and Aaron M. Bauer 2012. A New Acontine Skink from Zambia (Scincidae: Acontias Cuvier, 1817). Journal of Herpetology 46 (4): 494-502. - get paper here Williams E E 1982. Arthur Loveridge—A Life in Retrospect. Breviora (471): 1-12 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

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