Pseudoacontias Explained

Pseudoacontias is genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae.

Geographic range

The genus Pseudoacontias is endemic to Madagascar.

Description

All species of Pseudoacontias are large, fossorial skinks, measuring at least 200mm in snout–vent length. They lack limbs or have greatly reduced limbs.^{[1] [2]}

Species

The genus contains the following species:

• Pseudoacontias angelorum
• Pseudoacontias madagascariensis – giant Madagascar skink
• Pseudoacontias menamainty
• Pseudoacontias unicolor

Etymology

The specific name, angelorum (genitive, masculine, plural), is in honor of twin brothers Angelien and Angeluc Razafimanantsoa who are Madagascan naturalists.^[3]

Further reading

• Bocage JVB (1889). "Mélanges erpétologiques. I.—Sur un Scincoidien nouveau de Madagascar ". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes, Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, Segunda Série 1: 125–126. (Pseudoacontias, new genus, p. 125; P. madagascariensis, new species, pp. 125–126). (in French).

Notes and References

1. 10.1163/156853803763806948. A new fossorial scincine lizard of the genus Pseudoacontias (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from Nosy Be, Madagascar. Amphibia-Reptilia. 24. 57–64. 2003. Sakata S, Hikida T. free.
2. 10.1017/S0952836902001280. Malagasy scincid lizards: Descriptions of nine new species, with notes on the morphology, reproduction and taxonomy of some previously described species (Reptilia, Squamata: Scincidae). Journal of Zoology. 258. 2. 139–1622. 2002. Andreone F, Greer AE.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Pseudoacontias angelorum, p. 9).