Sphenomorphus darlingtoni explained

Sphenomorphus darlingtoni is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Papua New Guinea.

Etymology

The specific name, darlingtoni, is in honor of American entomologist Philip Jackson Darlington Jr.^[1]

Common name

S. darlingtoni is known as mamng in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. This common name is also applied to plants of the genus Begonia.^[2]

Behavior and habitat

The Kalam people of Papua New Guinea describe S. darlingtoni as a slow-moving lizard that does not escape when caught, and also does not bask in the sun. It prefers damp habitats and is often found in areas of Ischaemum polystachyum grass.^[2] S. darlingtoni is fossorial, and has been found in montane rainforest, at altitudes of 1524–.

Reproduction

S. darlingtoni is oviparous.

Further reading

• Greer AE, Parker F (1967). "A new scincid lizard from the northern Solomon Islands". Breviora (275): 1–20. (Sphenomorphus darlingtoni, new combination, p. 16).
• Greer AE, Shea G (2004). "A New Character within the Taxonomically Difficult Sphenomorphus Group of Lygosomine Skinks, with a Description of a New Species from New Guinea". Journal of Herpetology 38 (1): 79–87.
• Loveridge A (1945). "New Scincid Lizards of the Genera Tropodiphorus and Lygosoma from New Guinea". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 58: 47–52. (Tropidophorus darlingtoni, new species, pp. 47–48).

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. [Ralph Bulmer|Bulmer, R.N.H.]