''Nessia gansi'', also known commonly as Gans's 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 ...

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 ...

Habitat and distribution

''N. gansi'' is restricted to low-land wet zones up to . Known localities include

Ambalangoda Ambalangoda is a coastal town located in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Governed by Ambalangoda Urban Council, the town is famous for its ancient demon masks and devil dancers. Situated approximately south of Colombo, it sits o ...

, Kanneliya Forest Reserve,

Kottawa Kottawa ( si, කොට්ටාව, ta, கொட்டாவை) is one of the main suburbs in Colombo, Sri Lanka and is administered by the Maharagama Urban Council. It is located from the centre of Colombo. History The name Kottawa is de ...

, Mount Rumaswala,

Imaduwa Imaduwa is a suburb of Galle. It is located approximately away from the Galle within Galle District of the Southern Province. It is situated on the boundary of Galle district and Matara District. It is a major centre which connects Matara Distric ...

and

Description

''N. gansi'' has the following characters. The midbody scales are in 22-26 rows. The

ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that conta ...

number 103-114. There are 93-105 paravertebral

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

. The snout is acutely pointed. There are four limbs, and each limb has three digits. www.reptile-database.org. The dorsum is dark brown, with each dorsal scale having a distinct posterior dark spot, and the venter is dusky brown.

Ecology

''N. gansi'' prefers damp

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 or home gardens. In home gardens, it is found in loose soil, in leaf debris, close to rubbish heaps.

Reproduction

''N. gansi'' 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 ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''gansi'', is in honour 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 ...

Habitat and distribution

Description

Ecology

Reproduction

Etymology

References

Further reading