Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Lygosominae (Lygosomini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Loveridge's Writhing Skink, Tana River Writhing Skink |
Synonym | Riopa tanae LOVERIDGE 1935: 11 Riopa tanae — SMITH 1937: 228 Riopa tanae — LANZA & CARFI 1966: 41 Lygosoma tanae — LANZA 1990 Lygosoma tanae — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 16 Lygosoma tanae — SPAWLS & ROTICH 1997 Lygosoma tanae — SPAWLS et al. 2002: 146 Mochlus tanae — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 155 |
Distribution | Somalia (Lanza 1990), Kenya (coastal areas) south to Ndungu, South Pare, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania.
Type locality: Kau, near Tana River mouth, Kenya.
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Reproduction | ovovivparous |
Types | Holotype: MCZ 40251, adult female |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A very slender, attenuated species with small, pentadactyle limbs, the hind limb being included from 334 (young) to 6 (adult) times in the distance between the axilla and groin. A pair of supranasals form a suture separating the rostral from the frontonasal, nostril in a single nasal which forms a horizontal suture with the supranasal. Midbody scales smooth, in 22 to 24 rows.
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Comment | |
Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
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
- Lanza, B. 1990. Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: check list and biogeography. Biogeographia, 14: 407-465 [1988] - get paper here
- Lanza, B. and Carfi, S. 1966. Note su alcuni Scincidae della Somalia e descrizione di una nuova specie di Mochlus (Reptilia, Squamata). Monit. zool. ital. Suppl. 74: 34-43. - get paper here
- Loveridge, A. 1935. Scientific results of an expedition to rain forest regions in Eastern Africa. I. New reptiles and amphibians from East Africa. Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harvard 79: 1- 19. - get paper here
- Smith, M.A. 1937. A review of the genus Lygosoma (Scincidae: Reptilia) and its allies. Records of the Indian Museum 39 (3): 213-234
- Spawls, S. & Rotich, D. 1997. An annotated checklist of the lizards of Kenya. J. East African Nat. Hist. 86: 61-83
- 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, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
- Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
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