Thwaites's skink ( Chalcidoseps thwaitesi), also known Common name as the fourtoe snakeskink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is Endemism to the island of Sri Lanka.
Etymology
The specific name,
thwaitesi, is in honor of English botanist George Henry Kendrick Thwaites.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ( Chalcidoseps thwaitesi, p. 265).]
Taxonomy
C. thwaitesi is the only species in the
Monotypic taxon genus Chalcidoseps.
Habitat and geographic range
A highly fossorial skink,
C. theaitesi is known from the Knuckles Mountain Range, between .
Description
C. thwaitesi has small eyes with scaly lower eyelids. The midbody scales are smooth, in 24-26 rows. The body and tail are elongate, and the tail is as wide as the body. The limbs are short and rudimentary, each bearing four toes, the inner two toes being short. The dorsum is dark brown, with a blackish-brown central region.
Ecology
In many places,
C. thwaitesi lives in
sympatry with skinks of the
Genus Nessia and
Lankascincus.
Diet
The diet of
C. thwaitesi comprises
.
Reproduction
C. thwaitesi is
Oviparity.
[ In April an adult female may lay a clutch of two eggs, each egg measuring 6–11 mm x 18 mm (.33 x .71 inch).
]
External links
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http://www.srisalike.com/Founa/Reptiles/Native/Chalcidoseps%20thwaitesii.aspx
Further reading
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Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. ( Chalcidoseps, new genus, p. 423; " Chalcidoseps thwaitesii sic", new combination, pp. 423–424 + Plate XXXVIII, figures 1, 1a, 1b).
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Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus Chalcidoseps, p. 226; " Chalcidoseps thwaitesii sic", p. 226, Figure 62).
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Günther A (1872). "Descriptions of some Ceylonese Reptiles and Batrachians". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fourth Series 9: 85-88. (" Nessia Thwaitesii sic", new species, p. 86).
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Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Genus Chalcidoseps, pp. 354–355; Chalcidoseps thwaitesi, pp. 355–356, Figure 83).
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Taylor EH (1950). "Ceylonese Lizards of the Family Scincidae". University of Kansas Science Bulletin 33 (2): 481-518. (Genus Chalcidoseps, p. 507; Chalcidoseps thwaitesi, p. 508).
