Scelotes caffer (PETERS, 1861)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Scelotes caffer?
Scelotes caffer
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Cape Dwarf Burrowing Skink, Peters'Burrowing Skink |
| Synonym | Sepomorphus caffer PETERS 1861: 422 Scelotes tridactylus BOULENGER 1887: 413 Scelotes tridactylus — BOULENGER 1910: 487 Herpetosaura caffer — WITTE & LAURENT 1943: 27 Scelotes caffer — BAUER et al. 1995: 66 Scelotes caffer — WHITING et al. 2003 Scelotes caffer — BATES et al. 2014: 272 Scelotes caffer — TELFORD et al 2022 |
| Distribution | Republic of South Africa (scattered populations in E Cape, at Matjiesfontein, at Elands Bay, and in Little Namaqualand at Garies) Type locality: “Africa australis, Caffraria” [Eastern Cape Province, South Africa]. |
| Reproduction | ovoviviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ZMB 3899 |
| Diagnosis | 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 1019 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Limb morphology: Reduced limbs. |
| Etymology | Apparently named after British Kaffraria, the name given to the area between the Kei and Keiskamma rivers in the latter half of the 19th century (Raw 2022). However, it is more likely that “caffra” is derived from a derogatory term for black Africans that has been considered extremely offensive since the mid-20th century and is now illegal to use in South Africa. The epithet caffra is arguably a derivative of the ethnic slur, which itself is derived from the Arabic kaffir, meaning infidel (Pethiyagoda 2023). |
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