Carinascincus Explained

Carinascincus is a genus of skinks (family Scincidae), commonly called snow skinks^[1] or cool-skinks and residing mainly in Tasmania or Victoria, Australia.^[2] Then recognised as the genus Niveoscincus, it was found to belong to a clade with the genera Carlia, Lampropholis and others of the Eugongylus group within Lygosominae.^[3] Cogger has rejected the use of the junior name Niveoscincus and recognizes the valid senior generic name Carinascincus for the group.^[4] For similar skinks see genera Pseudemoia, Lampropholis, and Bassiana. These skinks have adapted to the cooler weather of southern Australia and particularly Tasmania, hence the common names.

Species

• Carinascincus coventryi – southern forest cool-skink
• Carinascincus greeni – alpine cool-skink or northern snow skink
• Carinascincus metallicus – metallic skink or metallic cool-skink
• Carinascincus microlepidotus – boulder cool-skink or southern snow skink
• Carinascincus ocellatus – spotted skink, ocellated cool-skink, or ocellated skink
• Carinascincus orocryptus – Tasmanian mountain skink, heath cool-skink, or mountain skink
• Carinascincus palfreymani – Pedra Branca skink, Pedra Branca cool-skink, or red-throated skink
• Carinascincus pretiosus – Tasmanian tree skink or agile cool-skink

Further reading

• Hutchinson MN, Donnellan SC, Baverstock PR, Krieg M, Simms S, Burgin S (1990). "Immunological Relationships and Generic Revision of the Australian Lizards Assigned to the Genus Leiolopisma (Scincidae, Lygosominae)". Australian J. Zool. 38 (5): 535–554. (Niveoscincus, new genus).
• Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. .
• Wells, Richard W.; Wellington, C. Ross (1985). "A Classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia". Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplemental Series (1): 1-61. (Carinascincus, new genus, p. 24).

Notes and References

1. Wilson S, Swan G (2003). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. Second Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishing.
2. http://www.cyberlizard.org.uk/skinks_niveoscincus.htm Niveoscincus
3. Austin . J.J. . Arnold . E.N. . Edwin Nicholas Arnold. Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 2006 . 39 . 2 . 503–511 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011. 16473026 .
4. Cogger (2014).