Ristella guentheri explained
Ristella guentheri, commonly known as Günther's ristella and Gunther's cat skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to India.
Etymology
The specific name, guentheri, is in honor of German-British herpetologist Albert Günther.[1]
Geographic range
R. guentheri is found in India, in Madurai district, Tenmalai, Travancore, and the Anaimalai Hills.[2]
The type locality is "Madura, Sirimallay Hills"[3] (= Sirumalai Hills, Madurai district).
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of R. guentheri is forest, at altitudes of .
Description
R. guentheri may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . It has 22 or 24 scales around the middle of the body. It is reddish brown dorsally, and whitish ventrally.[3]
Reproduction
R. guentheri is oviparous.[2]
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Ristella guentheri, p. 216).
- Das I (1997). "Checklist of the Reptiles of India, with English common names". Hamadryad 22 (1): 32–45.
- Palot MJ (2015). "A checklist of reptiles of Kerala, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa 7 (13): 8010–8022.
- 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. (Ristella guentheri, p. 332).
Notes and References
- [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
- www.reptile-database.org.
- [George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]
