Panaspis wahlbergi

Panaspis wahlbergi, also known commonly as the Angolan snake-eyed skink, the savannah lidless skink, and Wahlberg's snake-eyed skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Panaspis wahlbergi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Panaspis
Species:
P. wahlbergi
Binomial name
Panaspis wahlbergi
(A. Smith, 1849)
Synonyms[1]
  • Cryptoblepharis wahlbergii
    A. Smith, 1849
  • Ablepharus wahlbergii
    — Strauch, 1868
  • Ablepharus carsonii
    Boulenger, 1897
  • Afroablepharus wahlbergi
    — Greer, 1974
  • Panaspis wahlbergii
    — Lanza, 1988
  • Panaspis wahlbergi
    — Broadley, 1998

Etymology

The specific name, wahlbergi, is in honor of Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg.[2]

Geographic range

P. wahlbergi is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of P. wahlbergi is savanna, both arid and mesic.[3]

Description

Adults of P. wahlbergi usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in), and the tail is slightly longer than SVL. Males are larger than females, and the maximum recorded SVL is 6.4 cm (2.5 in).[3]

Reproduction

P. wahlbergi is oviparous.[1] An adult female may lay a clutch of 2–6 eggs. Each egg measures on average 8 mm x 4.5 mm (0.31 in x 0.18 in). Each hatchling has a total length (including tail) of about 3 cm (1.2 in).[3]

References
  1. Panaspis wahlbergi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2018-02-21.
  2. 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. (Afroablepharus wahlbergi, p. 278).
  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. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Panaspis wahlbergii, p. 159 + Plate 51).

Further reading
  • Medina MF, Bauer AM, Branch WM, Schmitz A, Conradie W, Nagy ZT, Hibbitts TJ, Ernst R, Portik DM, Nielsen SV, Colston TJ, Kusamba C, Behangana M, Rödel M-O, Greenbaum E (2016). "Molecular phylogeny of Panaspis and Ablepharus skinks (Squamata: Scincidae) in the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 100: 409–423.
  • Smith A (1849). Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; Consisting Chiefly of Figures and Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836; Fitted out by "The Cape of Good Hope Association for Exploring Central Africa:" Together with a summary of African Zoology, and an Inquiry into the Geographical Ranges of Species in that Quarter of the Globe. [Volume III. Reptilia.] London: Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury. (Smith, Elder and Co., printers). 48 Plates + unnumbered pages of text + Appendix. (Cryptoblepharus wahlbergii, new species, Appendix, p. 10).
  • Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Hinkel, Harald; Menegon, Michele (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618. (Panaspis wahlbergi, p. 165).



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