''Eutropis dawsoni'', also known
commonly as Gans's grass skink and Gans's mabuya, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Scincidae. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the southern
Western Ghats,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
[
]
Etymology
The specific name, ''dawsoni'', is in honor of F.W. Dawson who was Director of the Trivandrum Museum.[
The specific name of the synonym, ''gansi'', is in honor of American herpetologist ]Carl Gans
Carl Gans (7 September 1923 – 30 November 2009) was a German-born American zoologist and herpetologist.
Early life and education
Gans, who was Jewish, was born in Germany. While a teenager in 1939, he was able to escape Nazi Germany by ...
.
Geographic range
''E. dawsoni'' is found in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
and Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, southern India.[
The type locality of the formerly recognized ''Eutropis gansi'' is "2 km NW of Muthalar Road Cross off Sengaltheri–Thalayanai road (towards Moolakasam), Kalakkad Tiger Reserve, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu State, India".][ (''Mabuya gansi'', new species).]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''E. dawsoni'' is forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, at altitudes of and higher.
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''E. dawsoni'' is unknown.[
]
References
Further reading
* Annandale N (1909). "Report on a small collection of Lizards from Travancore". ''Records of the Indian Museum'' 3 (3): 253–257. (''Lygosoma dawsonii'', new species, p. 257).
* Das I (1991). "A New Species of ''Mabuya'' from Tamil Nadu State, Southern India (Squamata: Scincidae)". ''Journal of Herpetology'' 25 (3): 342–344. (''Mabuya gansi'', new species).
* Ganesh SR, Deuti K, Achyuthan NS, Campbell P Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
, Raha S, Bag P, Debnath S (2021). "Taxonomic reassessment of ''Eutropis macularia'' ( Blyth, 1853) complex in the Western Ghats of India: Resurrection of ''Eutropis brevis'' ( Günther, 1875), ''Eutropis dawsoni'' (Annandale, 1909) and synonymisation of ''Eutropis gansi'' (Das, 1991) (Reptilia:Squamata: Scincidae)". ''Records of the Zoological Survey of India'' 121 (3): 363–374.
* Mausfeld P, Schmitz A, Böhme W, Misof B, Vrcibradic D, Freder C (1991). "Phylogenetic Affinities of ''Mabuya atlantica'' Schmidt
Schmidt may refer to:
* Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname
* Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer
* Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater
* Schmidt (Martian crater), a List of craters on ...
, 1945, Endemic to the Atlantic Ocean Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (Brazil): Necessity of Partitioning the Genus ''Mabuya'' Fitzinger, 1826 (Scincidae: Lygosominae)". ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' 241: 281–293. (''Eutropis gansi'', new combination).
Eutropis
Reptiles of India
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats
Reptiles described in 1909
Taxa named by Nelson Annandale
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