| Kaestlea travancorica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Kaestlea |
| Species: | K. travancorica |
| Binomial name | |
| Kaestlea travancorica | |
| Synonyms | |
Mocoa travancoricaBeddome,1870 Contents | |
Kaestlea travancorica, also known as the Travancore ground skink or Barbour's ground skink, is a species of skink endemic to southern Western Ghats.
A medium-sized (3.8 cm), blue-tailed forest skink. [3] Earlier placed in the genus Scincella , it is now included in the genus Kaestlea . [4] It is diurnal and known to feed on insects on the forest floor.
Restricted to the Western Ghats, India. Mainly known from Travancore regions of Tamil Nadu and Kerala states. Studies conducted in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve show that this species occurs mainly in high-altitude rain forest habitat [5] at elevations between 1,000–1,700 m (3,300–5,600 ft) above sea level. [1]
Ristella is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Member species are commonly known as cat skinks because of their retractile claws. This genus can be instantly identified by the presence of only four fingers in forelimbs in all the species. All the members look more or less similar, and are drab dark brown to blackish in colouration, with paler undersides. This poorly known group of lizards is diurnal, insectivorous, terrestrial to semi-fossorial in habits. They inhabit deep leaf-litter and grasslands in montane forests and rainforests.
Colonel Richard Henry Beddome was a British military officer and naturalist in India, who became chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department. In the mid-19th century, he extensively surveyed several remote and then-unexplored hill ranges in Sri Lanka and south India, including those in the Eastern Ghats such as Yelandur, Kollegal, Shevaroy Hills, Yelagiri, Nallamala Hills, Visakhapatnam hills, and the Western Ghats such as Nilgiri hills, Anaimalai hills, Agasthyamalai Hills and Kudremukh. He described many species of plants, amphibians, and reptiles from southern India and Sri Lanka, and several species from this region described by others bear his name.
Craspedocephalus macrolepis, commonly known as the large-scaled pit viper, is a venomous pitviper species endemic to the Southern Western Ghats of South India. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Boiga dightoni, commonly known as Dighton's catsnake, the Pirmad cat snake, and the Travancore cat snake, is a species of rear-fanged mildly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Beddome's day gecko is a species of lizard in the Family Gekkonidae endemic to India.
Subdoluseps pruthi, known commonly as Pruthi's skink or Pruthi's supple skink, is a species of diurnal, terrestrial, insectivorous, lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southern part of the Eastern Ghats in South India. The species was first described based on the type specimen from Chitteri hills in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. Further surveys reveal the presence of similar-looking skinks in nearby hill ranges. Though described in 1977, the holotype was collected in 1929, and yet very little is known or has been published about this species.
Eutropis dawsoni, also known commonly as Gans's grass skink and Gans's mabuya, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India.
Ristella beddomii, commonly known as Beddome's cat skink and Beddome's ristella, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southwestern India.
Ristella guentheri, commonly known as Günther's ristella and Gunther's cat skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to India.
Ristella rurkii, commonly known as Rurk's ristella, is a species of skink endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It is a small, insectivorous, diurnal skink found in shola grasslands and rainforests of hills ranges in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of India.
Ristella travancorica, commonly known as the Travancore cat skink or the Travancore ristella, is a species of skink endemic to the Western Ghats in India.
The two-lined ground skink is a species of skink. It is found in the Nilgiri Hills and Travancore Hills of India.
Scincella palnica is a species of skink found in India.
Sphenomorphus dussumieri, commonly known as Dussumier's forest skink and Dussumier's litter skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to southern India.
Microauris is a monotypic genus of agamid lizard. Its only species is Microauris aurantolabium, also known as the small-eared dragon or orange-lipped forest lizard, found in the forests of the southern Western Ghats and is currently known from the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. The species was formerly included in Pseudocalotes andamanensis of the Andaman Islands, but recognized as distinct in 2008. It was also classified under Calotes until 2018, where it was transferred to its own genus, Microauris, on the basis of its divergence from Calotes.
Scincella gemmingeri, commonly known as the forest ground skink, Cope's forest ground skink, and la escíncela de bosque de Cope in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Mexico.
Kaestlea is a genus of skinks. These skinks are small, shiny, smooth-scaled species. They are diurnal, terrestrial and insectivorous. They lay eggs to reproduce. These skinks are identified by their distinct blue tail colour. They live in tropical rainforest and montane forest habitats. These secretive skinks silently move through thick leaf-litter on forest floor. They are all endemic to the Western Ghats mountains and in some parts of Eastern Ghats (Shevaroys) of South India.
Kaestlea beddomii, also known as Beddome's ground skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Scincella doriae, also known commonly as Doria's ground skink and Doria's smooth skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Southeast Asia.
