The green-blooded skink (''Prasinohaema virens''), sometimes (ambiguously) known as "green tree skink", is a scincid lizard species native to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. The species is poorly studiedMolecular, morphological, and physiological evolution in South Pacific scincid lizards. Austin, Christopher Cowell, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1995, 213 pages; AAT 9603793 and the species' risk of extinction has not been evaluated by the

World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, and does not appear in any

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

appendix. The skink has developed

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

e on its toe pads (or digit pads) for climbing analogous to those of

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

s and

anole Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles () and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfami ...

s, but the trait is believed to have evolved independently to these groups, so is an example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

. With regards to the trait, other species in the genus, ''P. flavipes'' and ''P. prehensicauda'', have the primitive character, and lack the setae. Other skinks within the genus ''

Lipinia ''Lipinia'' is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. Species in the genus ''Lipinia'' are commonly called lipinias. Taxonomy The genus ''Lipinia'' belongs to the ''Sphenomorphus'' group of genera in which ''Lipinia'' has a rat ...

'' have also evolved toe pad setae, and within the skink family, four morphologically distinct adhesive microstructures have evolved, possibly all with independent evolutionary origins. By contrast, anoles and geckos each use a single, common structure, although it appears to have evolved independently in the two groups. As in other lizards of the genus ''

Prasinohaema ''Prasinohaema'' (Greek: "green blood") is a genus of skinks characterized by having green blood. This condition is caused by an excess buildup of the bile pigment biliverdin. ''Prasinohaema'' species have plasma biliverdin concentrations appr ...

'', the

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

of ''P. virens'' is green, rather than the usual red coloration of most

vertebrates Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

. The green blood pigmentation results in a strikingly bright lime-green coloration of muscles, bones, tongue, and

mucosal tissue A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...

, and is the result of the accumulation of the bile pigment

biliverdin Biliverdin (latin for green bile) is a green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment, and is a product of heme catabolism.Boron W, Boulpaep E. Medical Physiology: a cellular and molecular approach, 2005. 984-986. Elsevier Saunders, United States. It is the ...

in levels that would be toxic in all other vertebrates. Biliverdin is formed from the breakdown of hemoglobin, and is normally converted to bilirubin. However, mutation in various genes regulating bilirubin formation is believed to lead to the formation and accumulation of high levels of biliverdin. It is speculated that the high biliverdin concentration protects against malaria.

Import to Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Importing this skink is prohibited under State and Territory legislation because the skink's risk as an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

has not yet been assessed. However, live specimens may be imported with a permit issued under the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

for noncommercial purposes, such as research, but not as a household pet.

Geographic specifications

This species of ''Prasinohaema'' is native to Papua New Guinea in southeast Asia. ''P. virens'' were named after their discovery in the late 19th century by the German zoologist Wilhelm Peters. The species resides across the New Guinean and Solomon Islands in altitudes ranging from sea level to 500m. P. virens inhabit lowland rainforest and plantations of different varieties. The high accumulation of biliverdin in this species blood makes it the only genus known to possess green blood in all of Asia. Due to the abundant rainforest and agrarianism, the species currently faces no clear threats to its habitat.

References

External links

*http://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/14560.jpg {{Taxonbar, from=Q115716 Prasinohaema Skinks of New Guinea Reptiles described in 1881 Endemic fauna of New Guinea Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters