''Nessia burtonii'', commonly known as Burton's nessia, Gray's snake skink, or the three-toed snake 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 ...

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

, a lizard 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

The specific name, ''burtonii'', is in honor of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Edward Burton Edward Burton may refer to: *Edward Burton (footballer) (1869–?), English footballer *Edward Burton (Jesuit) (1585–1623), English Jesuit *Edward Burton (theologian) (1794–1836), English theologian, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford *Edwa ...

(1790–1867).Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Nessia burtonii'', p. 43).

Habitat and geographic range

A burrowing skink found in the wet zone of Sri Lanka, ''N. burtonii'' is widely distributed at at

Gampola Gampola ( si, ගම්පොල, ta, கம்பளை) is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four yea ...

, Veyangoda,

Lunawa Lunawa is a suburb in Sri Lanka lying on the coast just south of the capital, Colombo. Lunawa is a suburb of Moratuwa in the Colombo District of the Western Province. The main sources of income in this city are carpentry and fishing. There are al ...

Mathugama Mathugama ( si, මතුගම, ta, மத்துகம) is a semi urban town surrounded by mountains. It is an electorate of the Kalutara district, in Western Province, Sri Lanka. The town is located to the south of Colombo. Mathugama is ...

Kuruwita Kuruwita is a town in the Ratnapura District of Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is 87 km from Colombo. It used to be served by the narrow gauge Sabaragamuwa Railway, a branch of the national railway system. And known for the nearb ...

Rakwana Rakwana is a small town in the Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka, a notable centre of Ceylon tea plantations and industry. Additionally, Rakwana is said to have gem resources. Rakwana is local ...

, and

Kadugannawa Kadugannawa is a town in Kandy District in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. It is located along the A1 road west of Peradeniya. The town is served by Kadugannawa Railway Station and ha ...

Description

''N. burtoni'' has 24-26 scale rows at midbody. The body is slender and of equal girth from head to tail. The snout is acute. Each limb has three tiny clawed toes, hence one of the common names. The dorsum is brown or light reddish brown, each scale with a darker edge. The venter is creamy or may be gray.

Ecology and diet

''N. burtonii'' hides during the day, under rubble, decaying logs, and in leaf litter within submontane forests, up to . When exposed, it immediately wriggles into loose soil or under rubble. When caught, it regurgitates its food, presumably as a predator-deflection response. It forages at night on

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 ...

s and possibly

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

Reproduction

''N. burtoni'' 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 ...

. Two

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are laid in loose soil..

References

* Boulenger GA (1887). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (''Acontias burtonii'', p. 425). *Boulenger GA (1890). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Acontias burtonii'', p. 227). * Gray JE (1839). "Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descriptions of many new Genera and Species". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''

irst Series An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

2: 331-337. ("''Nessia Burtonii'' ic, new species, p. 336). *Gray JE (1845). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. ("''Nessia Burtoni'' ic, p. 126). * Günther ACLG (1864). ''The Reptiles of British India.'' London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (''Nessia burtonii'', p. 97). * Smith MA (1935). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. ("''Nessia burtoni'' ic, pp. 357–358).

External links

*http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=''Nessia'' & species=''burtonii'' *http://www.gbif.org/species/124789228
Photos of Burton's snake skink
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5122740 Reptiles of Sri Lanka Nessia Reptiles described in 1839 Taxa named by John Edward Gray