Chioninia is a genus of skinks, lizards in the subfamily Lygosominae. For long, this genus was included in the "wastebin taxon" Mabuya. The genus Chioninia contains the Cape Verde mabuyas.
Description
Species in the genus
Chioninia are mid-sized to largish
with cylindrical bodies, tails of medium length, and well-developed arms and legs; the hands and feet have 5 toes each. Their
are underlaid by
. The scales on the back and belly are similar in shape, but those on the back are keeled. The scales on the top of the head are generally flat and
subimbricate; they have a pair of
supranasal scales and the
frontoparietal and
are paired or fused. The third
supraocular scale is the hindmost one that contacts the
frontal scale, and the secondary
temporal scales touch each other. The
nasal scale is undivided.
Chioninia mabuyas have 26–27 presacral . Their are in contact with the median; the deep sphenopalatine notch separates the (toothed or toothless) pterygoids and extends forwards to between the centre of the eyes. The fairly small teeth are pleurodont. The ear opening is small, and the are hidden in a moderately deep ear canal.
Species
The following 7 species are recognized as being valid:
[ Chioninia, The Reptile Database.]
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Chioninia coctei – Cape Verde giant skink - extinct
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Chioninia delalandii – Delalande's skink
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Chioninia fogoensis – Fogo skink
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Chioninia nicolauensis – São Nicolau skink
-
Chioninia spinalis
-
Chioninia stangeri – Stanger's skink
-
Chioninia vaillantii – Vaillant's mabuya
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Chioninia.
