''Otosaurus cumingii'',
commonly called Cuming's sphenomorphus or the Luzon giant forest 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
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
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
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 ...
, ''cumingii'', is in honor of English naturalist
Hugh Cuming.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Sphenomorphus cumingi'', p. 62).]
Habitat
''O. cumingii'' is found up to above sea level in the forests throughout most of the Philippines.
[
]
Description
The Luzon giant forest skink reaches a total length (including tail) of 35 cm (14 inches).[
]
Behavior
''O. cumingii'' tends to hide under leaves and logs.[
]
References
Further reading
* 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. (''Lygosoma cumingii'', p. 249 + Plate XVI, figure 2).
* Gray JE (1845). ''Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. (''Otosaurus cumingii'', new species, p. 93).
* Linkem CW, Diesmos AC, Brown RM (2011). "Molecular systematics of the Philippine forest skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: ''Sphenomorphus''): testing morphological hypotheses of interspecific relationships". ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 163: 1217–1243. (''Otosaurus cumingii'', new combination).
Skinks
Endemic fauna of the Philippines
Reptiles of the Philippines
Reptiles described in 1845
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
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