Nessia sarasinorum
| Nessia sarasinorum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Nessia |
| Species: | N. sarasinorum
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| Binomial name | |
| Nessia sarasinorum (F. Müller, 1889)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Nessia sarasinorum, commonly known as Sarasins's snake skink or Müller's nessia, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, sarasinorum, is in honor of Swiss zoologists Karl Friedrich Sarasin and Paul Benedict Sarasin, who were cousins.[2]
Habitat and distribution
[edit]A dry zone skink, N. sarasinorum is known in Sri Lanka from Maha Oya, Lahugala Kitulana National Park, Polgahawela, Polonnaruwa, Galigamuwa, Buttala, Inamaluwa, Dambulla, Kandalama, and Batticaloa.
Description
[edit]The body of N. sarasinorum is slender and of equal girth, from head to tail. The snout is acute and short. The fronto-nasal is shorter and broader than the frontal. The lower eyelid is scaly. The midbody scale rows number 22. The pre-anals are distinctly enlarged. The anterior limbs missing, and each posterior limb is reduced to a bud. The dorsum is light brown or bluish gray. There are individual scales with darker patches. Ventrally, it is lighter.
Ecology and diet
[edit]N. sarasinorum inhabits moist loose soil or vegetation, such as tree roots.
References
[edit]- ^ Species Nessia sarasinorum at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Nessia sarasinorum, p. 233).
Further reading
[edit]- 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. (Acontias sarasinorum, p. 228).
- Müller F (1889). "Sechster Nachtrag zum Katalog der herpetologischen Sammlung des Basler Museums ". Verhandlung der Naturforschender Gesellschaft in Basel 8: 685-705. (Acontias sarasinorum, new species, pp. 702–704). (in German).
- 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. (Nessia sarasinorum, p. 360).