''Lankascincus deignani'', commonly known as Deignan's tree skink and the Deignan tree skink, 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 ...

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 island of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Etymology and taxonomy

''L. deignani'' is named after American

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Herbert Girton Deignan Herbert Girton Deignan (December 5, 1906 – March 15, 1968) was an American ornithologist who worked extensively on the birds of Thailand. Deignan was born in New Jersey, the son of Harry Francis and Anna Galena. He grew up in Pennsylvania and ...

, being originally named ''Sphenomorphus deignani'' by Kansas University's Edward H. Taylor, based on a specimen collected by Deignan from

Gannoruwa Gannoruwa is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. Gannoruwa has its own historical connections. In 1638, the Battle of Gannoruwa was fought between the Portuguese and the Sinhala forces under King Rajasinha ll and Princ ...

Mountain on November 12, 1944.Moonesinghe, Vinod. "The birth of the CIA". ''Daily News'' (Sri Lanka). 16 August 2012.
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Habitat and distribution

Deignan's Lanka skink is confined to the midhills, submontane and montane

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' ...

s, at of elevation.

Description

''L. deignani'' is a rather large and robust Lanka skink. The midbody scale rows number 28. The lamellae under the fourth toe number 19–20. The dorsum is olive brown. There is a thick dark lateral stripe, edged above by a brownish yellow stripe, and below by 3–4 gray stripes extending from edge of the orbit to the tail-tip. The venter is cream white or pale pink. There are black spots on the upper jaw.

Ecology and diet

''L. deignani'' is found in moist leaf litter, under stones and logs in forests. Its diet comprises

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

Reproduction

''L. deignani'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

. Typically two eggs are laid per one time.

Etymology and taxonomy

Habitat and distribution

Description

Ecology and diet

Reproduction

References

Further reading