''Sepsina'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
skinks (
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Scincidae). The genus 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 else ...
to southern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Taxonomy
This genus is presently placed in the
subfamily Scincinae
Scincinae is a subfamily of lizards. The subfamily contains 33 genera, and the genera contain a combined total of 284 species, commonly called skinks. The systematics is at times controversial. The group is probably paraphyletic. It is one of thr ...
, a subfamily which seems to be
paraphyletic however. ''Sepsina'' belongs to a major
clade of this group which does not seem to include the
type genus ''
Scincus
''Scincus'' is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus contains four or five species, all of which are typical desert inhabitants, living in sandy and dune-like areas with a hot and dry climate. Species in the genus ''Scinc ...
''. Thus, it will probably be eventually assigned to a new, yet-to-be-named subfamily.
[Austin & Arnold (2006).]
Species
The following five
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 ...
are recognized:
[ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.]
*''
Sepsina alberti
''Sepsina alberti'', also known commonly as Albert's skink and Albert's burrowing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.
Etymology
Unfortunately, Hewitt did not explain to whom the specific ...
''
Hewitt, 1929 – Albert's skink, Albert's burrowing skink
*''
Sepsina angolensis
''Sepsina angolensis'', the Angola skink, is a species of lizard which is found in Namibia, Angola, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5122015
angolensis
This list of Latin and Greek words commonly use ...
''
Bocage
Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use.
''Bocage'' may als ...
, 1866 – Angola skink
*''
Sepsina bayonii
''Sepsina bayonii'', also known commonly as Bayon's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Central Africa and Southern Africa.
Etymology
The specific name, ''bayonii'', is in honor of Francisco Antonio ...
''
(Bocage, 1866) – Bayon's skink
*''
Sepsina copei
''Sepsina copei'', also known commonly as Cope's reduced-limb skink or the sepsina skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Angola.
Etymology
The specific name, ''copei'', is in honor of American herpeto ...
''
Bocage, 1873 – sepsina skink, Cope's reduced-limb skink
*''
Sepsina tetradactyla
''Sepsina tetradactyla'', the four-fingered skink, is a species of lizard which is found in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (R ...
''
W. Peters, 1874 – four-fingered skink
References
Further reading
* (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered ''Leiolopisma'' skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 39 (2): 503–511.
(HTML abstract)
*
Bocage JVB (1866). "''Reptiles nouveaux ou peu connus recueillis dans les possessions portugaises de l'Afrique occidentale, qui se trouvent au Muséum de Lisbonne''". ''Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes, Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa'' 1: 57–78. (''Sepsina'', new genus, p. 62; ''Sepsina angolensis'', new species, p. 63; ''Dumerilia'', new genus, p. 63; ''Dumerilia bayonii'', new species, pp. 63–64). (in French).
*
Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Genus ''Sepsina'', p. 145; ''Sepsina alberti'', p. 145 + Plate 49; ''Sepsina angolensis'', p. 146 + Plate 101).
Sepsina
Lizard genera
Taxa named by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage
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