Sepsina bayonii explained

Sepsina bayonii, also known commonly as Bayon's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Central Africa and Southern Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, bayonii, is in honor of Francisco Antonio Pinheiro Bayão, a Portuguese planter in Angola, who collected the holotype.^[1]

Geographic range

S. bayonii is found in Angola and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. bayonii is savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 500m (1,600feet).

Description

S. bayonii has no front legs. Each back leg is very small, tapering, and ends in a claw. The largest specimen measured by Boulenger had a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 7.1cm (02.8inches), a tail length of 4.4cm (01.7inches), and a hind leg length of 0.4cm (00.2inches).

Behavior

S. bayonii burrows in leaf litter and loose sandy soil.

Reproduction

S. bayonii is viviparous.

Further reading

• Bocage JVB (1866). "Reptiles nouveaux ou peu connus recueillis dans les possessions portugaises de l'Afrique occidentale, qui se trouvent au Muséum de Lisbonne". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes, Lisboa 1: 57–78 + Plate I. (Dumerilia bayonii, new species, pp. 63–64). (in French).
• Peters W (1875). "Über zwei Gattungen von Eidechsen, Scincodipus und Sphenoscincus". Monatsberichte der Königliche Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1875: 551–553 + Plate. (Scincodipus congicus, new species, pp. 551–552 + Plate, figures 1–5). (in German).

Notes and References

1. [Richard Allen "Bo" Crombet-Beolens|Beolens B]