Acontias meleagris
Acontias meleagris, or the Cape legless skink, is a species of skink found in the southern Cape of South Africa. It has no limbs, like most members of the subfamily Acontinae.[2]
| Acontias meleagris | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Acontias |
| Species: | A. meleagris |
| Binomial name | |
| Acontias meleagris | |
Description
Its slender, tube-shaped body is golden-brown with tiny black spots. These spots fuse into longitudinal stripes in some specimens.
Distribution
Found in the southern Cape of South Africa, It is usually found burrowing in dry sand as well as beneath boulders, dead trees and other detritus. It gives birth to two to four young in summer.
References
- Conradie, W. & Bauer, A.M. (2018). Acontias meleagris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T44974868A115668762.en
- Savel R. Daniels; Neil J. L. Heideman; Martin G. J. Hendricks; Mphalile E. Mokone; Keith A. Crandall (2005). "Unraveling evolutionary lineages in the limbless fossorial skink genus Acontias (Sauria: Scincidae): are subspecies equivalent systematic units?". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 645–654. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.011. PMID 15683935.
Further reading
- Heideman, N. J. L.; et al. (2008). "Sexual dimorphism in the African legless skink subfamily Acontiinae (Reptilia: Scincidae)". African Zoology. 43 (2): 192–201. doi:10.3377/1562-7020-43.2.192.
- Hewitt, J. (1938). "Description of new forms of the genus Acontias". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 26: 39–48. doi:10.1080/00359193809519768.
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