Riopa vosmaerii explained

Vosmer's writhing skink (Riopa vosmaeri) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to India.

Etymology

The specific name, vosmaeri, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Arnout Vosmaer (1720–1799).^[1]

Geographic range and habitat

R. vosmaerii is found in India. Originally it was known only from the holotype. A second specimen was discovered in 2009 in an open scrub jungle in rocky habitat near Jaggayapet, Andhra Pradesh, some 170 years after the collection of the holotype.^[2]

Description

R. vosmaerii resembles L. lineata. However, L. vosmaerii has five digits on each front foot, where R. lineata has only four.^[3]

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ, Scincidæ, Anelytropidæ, Dibamidæ, Chamæleontidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Lygosoma vosmaeri, p. 315 + Plate XXV, figures 2, 2a, 2b).
• Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Riopa vosmaeri, p. 322).
• Vyas, Raju (2002). "Notes on the distribution of Lygosoma lineata (Gray, 1839) and comments on the systematic status of L. vosmaerii (Gray, 1839)". Hamadryad 26 (2):360-361. [2001].

External links

• Banglapedia, National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Lizard).

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Lygosoma vosmaeri, p. 276).
2. Seetharamaraju M, Sreekar R, Srinivasulu C, Srinivasulu B, Kaur H, Venkateshwarlu P . 2009 . Rediscovery of Vosmer's Writhing Skink Lygosoma vosmaerii (Gray, 1839) (Reptilia: Scincidae) with a note on its taxonomy . Journal of Threatened Taxa . 1 . 12 . 624–626 . 10.11609/JoTT.o2160.624-6. free .
3. [Malcolm Arthur Smith|Smith MA]