| Melanoseps occidentalis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Melanoseps |
| Species: | M. occidentalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanoseps occidentalis (Peters, 1877) | |
The western limbless skink (Melanoseps occidentalis) is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and Central African Republic. [1]
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions.
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.
Lipinia is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. Species in the genus Lipinia are commonly called lipinias.
Melanoseps is a genus of lizards, known commonly as limbless skinks, in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Typhlacontias is a genus of legless, burrowing skinks in the family Scincidae, a genus endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. Its sister group is the clade consisting of the genera Feylinia and Melanoseps.
Edward Harrison Taylor was an American herpetologist from Missouri.
Trachylepis is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the "wastebin taxon" Mabuya, and for some time in Euprepis. As defined today, Trachylepis contains the clade of Afro-Malagasy mabuyas. The genus also contains a species from the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, T. atlantica, and may occur in mainland South America with Trachylepis tschudii and Trachylepis maculata, both poorly known and enigmatic. The ancestors of T. atlantica are believed to have rafted across the Atlantic from Africa during the last 9 million years.
Scincinae is a subfamily of lizards. The subfamily contains 33 genera, and the genera contain a combined total of 284 species, commonly called skinks. The systematics is at times controversial. The group is probably paraphyletic. It is one of three subfamilies of the family Scincidae, the other two being Acontinae and Lygosominae.
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.
Acontias occidentalis, the western burrowing skink or savanna legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and South Africa.
The western three-striped skink is a species of skink found in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, and Angola.
The black limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Uluguru limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Tanzania.
The Pangani black limbless skink or longtail limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Tanzania.
Loveridge's limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Tanzania and Zambia.
The pygmy limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Tanzania.
The Rondo limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Tanzania.
The Udzungwa limbless skink is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found in Tanzania.
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.
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