Ristella rurkii

Ristella rurkii
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Sauria
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Scincidae
Subfamily:	Sphenomorphinae
Genus:	Ristella
Species:	R. rurkii
Binomial name
Ristella rurkii Gray, 1839
Synonyms
Ristella rurkii Gray, 1839 Ateuchosaurus travancoricus Beddome, 1870 (part) Ristella malabarica Stoliczka, 1871 Ristella rurki [sic] — M.A. Smith, 1935 Ristella rurkii — Das, 1996[2]

Ristella rurkii, commonly known as Rurk's ristella, is a species of skink endemic to southern India.

Etymology

The specific name, rurkii, is in honor of "Dr. Rurk" who collected the type specimen.^[3]

Geographic range

R. rurkii is found in India, in the Anaimalai Hills, Travancore, and the Palni Hills.

References

1. Srinivasulu B, Srinivasulu C (2013). "Ristella rurkii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
2. "Ristella rurkii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. 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. (Ristella rurkii, p. 229).

Further reading

• Beddome RH (1870). "Descriptions of some new lizards from the Madras Presidency". Madras Monthly J. Med. Sci. 1: 30-35. (Ateuchosaurus travancoricus, new species, p. 33).
• 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. (Ristella rurkii, pp. 357–358 + Plate XXIX, figures 1, 1a).
• 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. (Ristella rurkii, pp. 215–216, Figure 57).
• Gray JE (1839). "Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descriptions of many new Genera and Species". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. [First Series] 2: 331-337. (Ristella rurkii, new species, p. 333).
• 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. ("Ristella rurki [sic]", p. 331).
• Stoliczka F (1871). "Notes on new or little-known Indian Lizards". Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal (Calcutta) 1871: 192-195. (Ristella malabarica, new species, p. 195).