Sphenomorphus darlingtoni

Sphenomorphus darlingtoni
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:	Sphenomorphus
Species:	S. darlingtoni
Binomial name
Sphenomorphus darlingtoni (Loveridge, 1945)
Synonyms [2]
Tropidophorus darlingtoni Loveridge, 1945 Sphenomorphus darlingtoni — Greer & Parker, 1967

Sphenomorphus darlingtoni is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Papua New Guinea. ^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, darlingtoni, is in honor of American entomologist Philip Jackson Darlington Jr. ^[3]

Common name

S. darlingtoni is known as mamng in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. This common name is also applied to plants of the genus Begonia . ^[4]

Behavior and habitat

The Kalam people of Papua New Guinea describe S. darlingtoni as a slow-moving lizard that does not escape when caught, and also does not bask in the sun. It prefers damp habitats and is often found in areas of Ischaemum polystachyum grass. ^[4] S. darlingtoni is fossorial, and has been found in montane rainforest, at altitudes of 1,524–1,829 m (5,000–6,001 ft). ^[1]

Reproduction

S. darlingtoni is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Tallowin, O.; Allison, A. [in French]; Shea, G. (2015). "Sphenomorphus darlingtoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015 e.T42485216A42485223. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T42485216A42485223.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Sphenomorphus darlingtoni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 September 2019.
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. (Sphenomorphus darlingtoni, p. 65).
4. Bulmer, R.N.H. (1975). "Kalam Classification Of Reptiles And Fishes". Journal of the Polynesian Society84 (3): 267–308.

Further reading

• Greer AE, Parker F (1967). "A new scincid lizard from the northern Solomon Islands". Breviora (275): 1–20. (Sphenomorphus darlingtoni, new combination, p. 16).
• Greer AE, Shea G (2004). "A New Character within the Taxonomically Difficult Sphenomorphus Group of Lygosomine Skinks, with a Description of a New Species from New Guinea". Journal of Herpetology38 (1): 79–87.
• Loveridge A (1945). "New Scincid Lizards of the Genera Tropodiphorus and Lygosoma from New Guinea". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington58: 47–52. (Tropidophorus darlingtoni, new species, pp. 47–48).