Anomalopus mackayi

Anomalopus mackayi
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scinciformata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Sphenomorphidae
Genus:	Anomalopus
Species:	A. mackayi
Binomial name
Anomalopus mackayi Greer & Cogger, 1985 [2]

Anomalopus mackayi, commonly known as the five-clawed worm skink, the long-legged worm skink, and Mackay's burrowing skink, is a species of smooth-scaled burrowing skink, a lizard in the subfamily Sphenomorphinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to eastern Australia.

Etymology

The specific name, mackayi, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Roy D. Mackay. ^{[2] [3]}

Behaviour and habitat

Anomalopus mackayi generally burrows in areas with black soil and few trees.^{[ citation needed ]}

Description

Anomalopus mackayi usually grows to a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about 10 cm (3.9 in). A. mackayi is similar to A. leuckartii but with distinctly didactyle (having two digits) hindlimbs, a central dark spot within each individual scale, and is yellow-green below with darker flecks (Cogger 2000).

Reproduction

Adult females of Anomalopus mackayi give birth to live young by ovoviviparity.^{[ citation needed ]}

Conservation status

Anomalopus mackayi is listed as "Least Concern" under the 2018 IUCN Red List, ^[1] and as "Endangered" under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. ^[4]

References

1. Shea, G.; Cogger, H.; Greenlees, M. (2018). "Anomalopus mackayi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018 e.T1541A101742754. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T1541A101742754.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Species Anomalopus mackayi at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
3. 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. (Anomalopus mackayi, pp. 164-165).
4. Australasian Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group (1996). "Anomalopus mackayi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996 e.T1541A4578855. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T1541A4578855.en . Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern.

Further reading

• Cogger H (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN   978-0643100350.
• Greer AE, Cogger HG (1985). "Systematics of the reduce-limbed and limbless skinks currently assigned to the genus Anomalopus (Lacertilia: Scincidae)". Records of the Australian Museum37 (1): 11–54. (Anomalopus mackayi, new species).
• Groombridge B (editor) (1994). 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Gland, Switzerland: International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN   978-1921517280.
• Wilson, S.; Swan, G. (2023). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Sixth Edition. Sydney: Reed New Holland Publishers. ISBN   978-1-92554-671-2. (Anomalopus mackayi, pp. 210–211).

External links

• "Anomalus mackayi ". Australian Government, Department of the Environment. Five-clawed worm skink.