Typhlacontias punctatissimus

Typhlacontias punctatissimus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Typhlacontias
Species:	T. punctatissimus
Binomial name
Typhlacontias punctatissimus Bocage, 1873

Typhlacontias punctatissimus, also known commonly as the dotted blind dart skink, the speckled burrowing skink, and the speckled western burrowing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southern Africa. Three subspecies are recognized.

Geographic range

T. punctatissimus found in Angola and Namibia.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. punctatissimus is desert at altitudes from sea level to 300 m (980 ft).^[1]

Description

A small burrowing skink, T. punctatissimus usually has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 6–8 cm (2.4–3.1 in). Maximum recorded SVL is 8.6 cm (3.4 in). It has no eyelids, no external ear openings, and usually no legs. However, some specimens may have rudimentary hind limbs. Dorsally, it is golden brown, with many black dots forming lines. The ventral surface of the tail is silvery blue.^[3]

Behavior

T. punctatissimus is terrestrial and fossorial.^[1]

Reproduction

T. punctatissimus is viviparous.^[2]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

• Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti Laurent, 1964
• Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei Haacke, 1997
• Typhlacontias punctatissimus punctatissimus Bocage, 1873

Etymology

The subspecific name, bogerti, is in honor of American herpetologist Charles Mitchill Bogert.^[4]

The subspecific name, brainei, is in honor of Steve Braine, who was a ranger at Skeleton Coast National Park, Namibia.^[2]

References

1. Baptista N, Bauer AM, Becker F, Ceríaco LMP, Conradie W (2020). "Typhlacontias punctatissimus ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T44979606A44979610. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44979606A44979610.en. Downloaded on 06 September 2020.
2. Typhlacontias punctatissimus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 October 2020.
3. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp., 112 color plates. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Typhlacontias punctatissimus, pp. 146–147 + Plate 101).
4. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Typhlacontias bogerti, p. 30).

Further reading

• Bocage JVB (1873). "Mélanges erpétologiques. II. Sur quelques Reptiles et Batraciens nouveaux, rares ou peu connus d'Afrique occidentale". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes, Academia Real das Sciencias da Lisboa 4 (15): 209–227. (Typhlacontias punctatissimus, new species, pp. 213–214). (in French).
• Haacke WD (1997). "Systematics and biogeography of the southern African scincine genus Typhlacontias (Reptilia: Scincidae)". Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 47 (1–2): 139–163. (Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei, new subspecies, pp. 150–151 + Figures 3c, 8).
• Laurent RF (1964). "Reptiles et batraciens de l'Angola (troisième contribution)". Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (DIAMANG), Serviços Culturais, Museu do Dundo (Angola) 67: 1–165. (Typhlacontias bogerti, new species, p. 82). (in French).
• Whiting AS, Bauer AM, Sites JW (2003). "Phylogenetic relationships and limb loss in sub-Saharan African scincine lizards (Squamata: Scincidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29 (3): 582–598.