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Acontias percivali, also known commonly as Percival's lance skink, Percival's legless lizard, and the Tanzanian legless lizard, is a species of small, legless (snake-like) lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Africa.
| Acontias percivali | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Acontias |
| Species: | A. percivali
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| Binomial name | |
| Acontias percivali Loveridge, 1935
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Etymology
editThe specific name, percivali, is in honor of British naturalist Arthur Blayney Percival (1874–1940), who was a game warden in East Africa.[2]
Geographic range
editThe geographic range of A. percivali is limited to continental Africa and includes regions of Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.[3]
Habitat
editPercival's lance skink inhabits savannas by burrowing just below the surface of the soil.
Subspecies
editThe two subspecies of A. percivali are:
A. p. tasmani may be a subspecies of Acontias meleagris as seen after DNA sequencing tests.[citation needed]
Description
editPercival's lance skink can be identified by its copper-brown back and gold underside. It is an insectivores that specializes in feeding on beetle larvae, earthworms, and other slow-moving invertebrates.
Reproduction
editA. percivali is ovoviviparous and has one to five young at a time.
As pets
editAlthough this A. percivali is poorly understood, it is occasionally seen in pet shops. Most Acontias specimens in the pet trade are wild-collected. In captivity, they require a deep layer of sandy substrate and hollow hiding places on the surface. Captive breeding may be possible, but currently has not been accomplished commercially.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Spawls, S.; Malonza, P.; Beraduccii, J.; Msuya, C.A. (2014). "Acontias percivali". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T44960134A44960137. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T44960134A44960137.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ 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. (Acontias percivali, pp. 202-203).
- ^ Species Acontias percivali at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
edit- Branch WR (1991). "Life History Note: Acontias percivali tasmani: Size and Predation". J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (39): 23-23.
- 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. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Acontias percivali, pp. 134–135 + Plate 44).
- Loveridge A (1935). "Scientific Results of an Expedition to Rain Forest Regions in Eastern Africa. I. New Reptiles and Amphibians from East Africa". Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 79 (1): 1-19. (Acontias percivali, new species, pp. 13–15).
External links
edit- Daniels SR, Heideman NJ, Hendricks MGJ, Crandall KA (2005). "Unraveling evolutionary lineages in the limbless fossorial skink genus Acontias ". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34 (3): 645–654.