''Lioscincus steindachneri'', also known
commonly as the white-lipped forest skink or Steindachner's ground 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 ...
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
New Caledonia
)
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, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''steindachneri'', is in honor of Austrian herpetologist
Franz Steindachner
Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian Zoology, zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachne ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Lioscincus steindachneri'', p. 252).]
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 ''L. steindachneri'' is moist
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 .
[
]
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''L. steindachneri'' is unknown. It may be 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 ...
or viviparous
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Bauer AM, Sadlier RA (editors) (2000). ''The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia''. Contributions to Herpetology No. 17. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR). 322 pp. .
* Bocage JVB (1873). "''Sur quelques Sauriens nouveaux de la Nouvelle Calédonie et de l'Australie''". ''Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes, Lisboa'' ''4(15): 228–232. (''Lioscincus steindachneri'', new species, pp. 228–229). (in French).
*Sadlier RA, Bauer AM, Shea GM, Smith SA (2015). "Taxonomic resolution to the problem of polyphyly in the New Caledonian scincid lizard genus ''Lioscincus'' (Squamata: Scincidae)". ''Records of the Australian Museum'' 67 (7): 207–224.
Lioscincus
Skinks of New Caledonia
Endemic fauna of New Caledonia
Reptiles described in 1873
Taxa named by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage
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