Lankascincus deignani

Lankascincus deignani, commonly known as Deignan's tree skink, is a species of skink endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.

Lankascincus deignani
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Lankascincus
Species:
L. deignani
Binomial name
Lankascincus deignani
(Taylor, 1950)

It is named for the American ornithologist Herbert Girton Deignan,[1] being originally named Sphenomorphus deignani by Kansas University's Edward H. Taylor, based on a specimen collected by Deignan from Gannoruwa Mountain on November 12, 1944.[2]

Habitat & Distribution

Deignan's Lanka skink is confined to the midhills, submontane, and montane forests between 600 to 1,700 m (2,000 to 5,600 ft) of elevation.

Description

L. deignani is a rather large and robust Lanka skink.

Midbody scales rows 24-28. Lamellae under fourth toe counts 16-20.

Dorsum olive brown. Thick dark lateral stripe, edged above by a brownish yellow stripe, and below by 3-4 gray stripes extending from edge of orbit to tail-tip. Venter cream white or pale pink. Black spots on the upper jaw.

Ecology & Diet

Found in moist leaf litter, under stones and logs in forests.

Diet comprises insects.

Reproduction

Typically 2 eggs laid per one time.

References
  1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lankascincus deignani, p. 68).
  2. Moonesinghe, Vinod. "The birth of the CIA". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 16 August 2012.

Further reading
  • Taylor EH (1950). "Ceylonese Lizards of the Family Scincidae". Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 33 (13): 481-518. (Sphenomorphus deignani, new species, pp. 497–500, Figure 3).
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