Red-tailed soil-crevice skink explained
The red-tailed soil-crevice skink (Austroablepharus kinghorni), also known commonly as Kinghorn's grassland striped skink and Kinghorn's snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the subfamily Eugongylinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Etymology
The specific name, kinghorni, is in honour of Australian herpetologist James Roy Kinghorn.[1]
Description
A. kinghorni may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Dorsally, it is tan or greyish, with dark brown spots forming lines that may be indistinct. Ventrally, it is tan or greyish. The tail is red, either dull or bright. The interparietal scale is not fused to the frontoparietals.[2]
Geographic range
A. kinghorni is found in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, and in the Northern Territory.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of A. kinghorni is tussock grassland with cracking soil.[2]
Reproduction
A. kinghorni is oviparous.
Further reading
- Cogger, H.G. (2018). Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia, Updated Seventh Edition. Clayton South, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxxii + 1,060 pp. .
- Copland, S.J. (1947). "Taxonomic Notes on the Genus Ablepharus (Sauria: Scincidae). I. A New Species from the Darling River". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 71: 282–286. (Ablepharus kinghorni, new species, pp. 282–285, Figures 1–3).
- Couper, P.J.
- Hoskin, C.J.; Potter, S.; Bragg, J.G.; Moritz, C. (2018). "A new genus to accommodate three skinks currently assigned to Proablepharus (Lacertilia: Scincidae)". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 60: 227–231. (Austroablepharus kinghorni, new combination).
- Fuhn, I.E. (1969). "The 'Polyphyletic' Origin of the Genus Ablepharus (Reptilia, Scincidae): a Case of Parallel Evolution". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 7 (1): 67–76. (Proablepharus kinghorni, new combination).
Notes and References
- [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, B.]
- [species:Steve K. Wilson|Wilson, S.]
