Eutropis beddomii

Eutropis beddomii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Lygosominae
Genus: Eutropis
Species: E. beddomii
Binomial name
Eutropis beddomii
(Jerdon, 1870)
Synonyms
  • Euprepes beddomei
    Jerdon, 1870
  • Euprepes (Tiliqua) septemlineatus Blanford, 1870
  • Mabuia beddomii
    Boulenger, 1887
  • Mabuya beddomii
    M.A. Smith, 1935
  • Eutropis beddomii
    Mausfeld et al., 2002[1]

Eutropis beddomii, commonly known as Beddome's skink, is a species of skink endemic to India.

Etymology

The species is named after Richard Henry Beddome, 1830-1911, British army officer and botanist.[2]

Description

Snout short, obtuse. Lower eyelid scaly. Nostril behind vertical of suture between rostral and first labial; no postnasal; anterior loreal deeper and shorter than the second, in contact with the first labial; supranasals in contact behind the rostral; frontonasal broader than long, sometimes in contact with the frontal; the latter usually as long as, or a little shorter than, the frontoparietals and interparietal together, sometimes not longer than the frontoparietals, in contact with the second, or rarely first and second, supraoculars ; 4 supraoculars, second largest; 6 supraciliaries, first longest; frontoparietals distinct, as long as or longer than the interparietal, which usually entirely separates the parietals; a pair of nuchals; 4 labials anterior to the subocular, which is large and not narrower below. Ear-opening oval, as large as a lateral scale, or a little smaller, with three short pointed lobules anteriorly. Dorsal and nuchal scales with 3 or 5 keels, sometimes very feeble; 30 to 32 scales round the middle of the body, subequal. The adpressed limbs meet or slightly overlap, Subdigital lamellae unicarinate. Scales on upper surface of tibia mostly tricarinate. Tail 1.6 to 2.2 times the length of head and body. The coloration varies considerably, but a lateral black band, edged above and below with a whitish streak, is constant. Some (young) specimens black above, with seven light longitudinal lines ; others olive-brown with four black dorsal streaks, which may not extend further back than the nape; or a light black-edged vertebral band may be present; head-shields spotted or variegated with black; limbs and tail rufous; lower surfaces white.[3]

From snout to vent 2.2 in (5.6 cm); tail 4.75 in (12.1 cm).[3]

Geographic range

Eutropis beddomii is found in southern India (Salem, Tinnevelly, Malabar, Mysore, etc.), the most northern locality known being SE Berar.

Type locality: Mysore.

Notes

  1. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. 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. (Mabuya beddomii, p. 21).
  3. 1 2 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. (Mabuia beddomii, pp. 187-188).

References

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