''Panaspis wilsoni'', also known
commonly as Wilson's dwarf skink and Wilson's snake-eyed 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
lidless skink, a
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
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
.
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 ...
, ''wilsoni'', is in honor of
Arnold Talbot Wilson
Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (18 July 1884 – 31 May 1940) was a British soldier, colonial administrator, Conservative politician, writer and editor. Wilson served under Percy Cox, the colonial administrator of Mesopotamia ( Mandatory Iraq ...
, who was a British military officer, diplomat, and amateur naturalist.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* Gray ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Afroablepharus wilsoni'', p. 287).
Geographic range
''P. wilsoni'' is found in southern Sudan.
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 ''P. wilsoni'' is unknown.[
]
Description
''P. wilsoni'' has a maximum snout–vent length
Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...
(SVL) of about , making it one of the smallest skinks known.[
]
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''P. wilsoni'' is unknown.[
]
References
Further reading
* (''Panaspis wilsoni'', new combination).
* Werner F (1914). "''Über Eidechsen, darunter zwei neue, aus dem Angloägyptischen Sudan''". ''Anzeiger der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse'' 57 (18): 393–394. (''Ablepharus wilsoni'', new species). (in German).
Panaspis
Skinks of Africa
Reptiles of Sub-Saharan Africa
Vertebrates of Sudan
Endemic fauna of Sudan
Reptiles described in 1914
Taxa named by Franz Werner
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