Acontias percivali

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Acontias percivali
Acontias percivali.jpeg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Acontias
Species:
A. percivali
Binomial name
Acontias percivali
Loveridge, 1935
Acontias percivali distribution (colored).png

Acontias percivali, also known commonly as Percival's lance skink, Percival's legless lizard, and the Tanzanian legless lizard, is a species of small, legless (snake-like) lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Africa.

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, percivali, is in honor of British naturalist Arthur Blayney Percival (1874–1940), who was a game warden in East Africa. [2]

Geographic range

The geographic range of A. percivali is limited to continental Africa and includes regions of Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. [3]

Habitat

Percival's lance skink inhabits savannas by burrowing just below the surface of the soil.

Subspecies

The two subspecies of A. percivali are:

A. p. tasmani may be a subspecies of Acontias meleagris as seen after DNA sequencing tests.[ citation needed ]

Description

Percival's lance skink can be identified by its copper-brown back and gold underside. It is an insectivores that specializes in feeding on beetle larvae, earthworms, and other slow-moving invertebrates.

Reproduction

A. percivali is ovoviviparous and has one to five young at a time.

As pets

Although this A. percivali is poorly understood, it is occasionally seen in pet shops. Most Acontias specimens in the pet trade are wild-collected. In captivity, they require a deep layer of sandy substrate and hollow hiding places on the surface. Captive breeding may be possible, but currently has not been accomplished commercially.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Acontias</i> Genus of lizards

Acontias is a genus of limbless skinks, the lance skinks, in the African subfamily Acontinae. Most are small animals, but the largest member of the genus is Acontias plumbeus at approximately 40 cm (16 in) snout-vent length. All members of this genus are live-bearing sandswimmers, with fused eyelids. A recent review moved species that were formerly placed in the genera Typhlosaurus, Acontophiops, and Microacontias into this genus, as together these form a single branch in the tree of life. This new concept of Acontias is a sister lineage to Typhlosaurus, and these two genera are the only genera within the subfamily Acontinae.

Scolecoseps is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to East Africa.

<i>Typhlosaurus</i> Genus of lizards

Typhlosaurus is a genus of African lizards, one of a number of genera of limbless lizards in the skink family (Scincidae). This group was recently revised with most species formerly attributed to Typhlosaurus now placed in Acontias. The current definition of Typhlosaurus includes five attenuate body legless lizards from southwestern Africa. This is the sister genus to Acontias, which together form the well supported Afrotropical subfamily Acontinae.

<i>Acontias breviceps</i> Species of lizard

Acontias breviceps, the shorthead lance skink or shortheaded legless skink, is a species of viviparous, legless, fossorial lizards occurring along the southern and eastern sections of the Great Escarpment in South Africa. It may grow up to 10 cm long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodbush legless skink</span> Species of lizard

The woodbush legless skink is a species of legless skink. It is found in the Wolkberg mountains of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Females of the species give birth to live young. This lizard species was formerly placed in a monotypic genus as Acontophiops lineatus. Morphologically the genus shows similarities to Acontias cregoi and a recent review placed both of these within the genus Acontias, which, as Acontias lineatus was already occupied, required a new name for this species.

<i>Acontias gracilicauda</i> Species of lizard

Acontias gracilicauda, the slendertail lance skink or thin-tailed legless skink, is a species of skink. It is found in the Republic of South Africa and Lesotho. Acontias namaquensis was formerly included in this species as a subspecies, but is now recognized as a distinct species.

Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons, born in Pietermaritzburg, was a notable herpetologist in South Africa. Also, he contributed to the collection of spermatophyte samples for the National Herbarium which has become part of the South African National Biodiversity Institute at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden. In 1937, together with Anna Amelia Obermeyer, he collected some of the earliest plant specimens from the Eastern Highlands of Rhodesia.

Proscelotes arnoldi, also known commonly as Arnold's skink or Arnold's montane skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Africa. Sometimes called a legless skink, it has tiny reduced limbs. The front limbs are very small, and both fore-limbs and hind-limbs have reduced function and appear to be vestigial attachments for its lifestyle and habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian leaf-toed gecko</span> Species of lizard

The Tasmanian leaf-toed gecko, also known commonly as Tasman's tropical house gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Zimbabwe.

Acontias albigularis, the white-throated legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is found under flat rocks on the montane grasslands and shrublands of the Mpumalanga escarpment. The species was originally regarded as a population of the shorthead lance skink.

Acontias aurantiacus, the golden blind legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa.

<i>Acontias cregoi</i> Species of lizard

Acontias cregoi, commonly known as Cregoe's legless skink, Cregoi's blind legless skink, and Cregoi's legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.

Acontias fitzsimonsi, Fitzsimons' legless skink or Fitzsimon's legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to South Africa.

Acontias namaquensis, the Namaqua legless skink or Namaqua lance skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Little Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa.

<i>Acontias orientalis</i> Species of lizard

Acontias orientalis, the Eastern striped blindworm or Eastern Cape legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to South Africa.

Haacke's legless skink, also known commonly as Brain's legless skink and Brain's blind legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.

Mochlus tanae, also known commonly as Loveridge's writhing skink or the Tana River writhing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to East Africa.

Scolecoseps acontias, also known commonly as the sandy limbless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Tanzania.

References

  1. Spawls, S.; Malonza, P.; Beraduccii, J.; Msuya, C.A. (2014). "Acontias percivali". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T44960134A44960137. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T44960134A44960137.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Acontias percivali, pp. 202-203).
  3. Species Acontias percivali at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading