''Trachylepis dumasi'' 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
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
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
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 ...
, ''dumasi'', is in honor of American herpetologist
Philip Conrad Dumas.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Trachylepis dumasi'', p. 77).]
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 ...
s of ''T. dumasi'' are
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' ...
and rocky areas, at altitudes of .
Description
A relatively small species for its
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
, the maximum recorded
snout-to-vent length (SVL) of ''T. dumasi'' is .
Dorsally, the head, body, and tail are brown.
[
]
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''T. dumasi'' is unknown.[
]
References
Further reading
* Bauer AM (2003). "On the identity of ''Lacerta punctata'' Linnaeus 1758, the type species of the genus ''Euprepis'' Wagler 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro-Malagasy skinks". ''African Journal of Herpetology'' 52 (1): 1–7. (''Trachylepis dumasi'', new combination).
* Glaw F, Vences M (2006). ''A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition''. Cologne, Germany. Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. .
* Mausfeld P, Schmitz A (2003). "Molecular phylogeography, intraspecific variation and speciation of the Asian scincid lizard genus ''Eutropis'' Fitzinger, 1843 (Squamata: Reptilia: Scincidae): taxonomic and biogeographic implications". ''Organisms Diversity & Evolution'' 3: 161–171. (''Eutropis dumasi'', new combination).
* Nussbaum RA, Raxworthy CJ (1995). "A new ''Mabuya'' (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) of the ''aureopunctata''-group from southern Madagascar". ''Journal of Herpetology'' 29 (1): 28–38. (''Mabuya dumasi'', new species).
Trachylepis
Reptiles described in 1995
Taxa named by Ronald Archie Nussbaum
Taxa named by Christopher John Raxworthy
{{Lygosominae-stub