Scelotes limpopoensis

The Limpopo burrowing skink (Scelotes limpopoensis) is a lizard species found in the Limpopo River valley in South Africa.

Limpopo burrowing skink
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Scelotes
Species:
S. limpopoensis
Binomial name
Scelotes limpopoensis

This species lost the forelimbs entirely and the hind limbs are reduced to only two digits.

Taxonomy

There are two sub-species:

  • Scelotes limpopoensis albiventris JACOBSEN 1987 - first described in the Langjan Nature Reserve
  • Scelotes limpopoensis limpopoensis FITZSIMONS 1930

Although both sub-species occupy a similar habitat the range of S. l. albiventris is smaller than S. l. limpopoensis and they have not been discovered in sympatry, and may probably be a full species.[2]

References

  1. "Scelotes limpopoensis FITZSIMONS, 1930". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  2. SCHMIDT, ALMUTH D. (30 December 2002). "The herpetofauna of the Langjan Nature Reserve" (PDF). Österreichische Gesellschaft für Herpetologie e.V. pp. 121–135. Retrieved 7 July 2015.


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