The red-tailed soil-crevice skink (Austroablepharus kinghorni), also known commonly as Kinghorn's grassland striped skink and Kinghorn's snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the subfamily Eugongylinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.[2]
| Red-tailed soil-crevice skink | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Austroablepharus |
| Species: | A. kinghorni
|
| Binomial name | |
| Austroablepharus kinghorni (Copland, 1947)
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Etymology
editThe specific name, kinghorni, is in honour of Australian herpetologist James Roy Kinghorn.[3]
Description
editA. kinghorni may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 4.5 cm (1.8 in). Dorsally, it is tan or greyish, with dark brown spots forming lines that may be indistinct. Ventrally, it is tan or greyish. The tail is red, either dull or bright. The interparietal scale is not fused to the frontoparietals.[4]
Geographic range
editA. kinghorni is found in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, and in the Northern Territory.[1][2]
Habitat
editThe preferred natural habitat of A. kinghorni is tussock grassland with cracking soil.[1][4]
Reproduction
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Wilson, S.; Shea, G.; Hobson, R.; Amey, A. (2018). "Proablepharus kinghorni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T109480890A109480897. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T109480890A109480897.en. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d Austroablepharus kinghorni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 1 January 2020.
- ^ Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Proablepharus kinghorni, p. 141).
- ^ a b Wilson, S.; Swan, G. (2023). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Sixth Edition. Sydney: Reed New Holland Publishers. 688 pp. ISBN 978-1-92554-671-2. (Austroablepharus kinghorni, pp. 212–213).
Further reading
edit- Cogger, H.G. (2018). Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia, Updated Seventh Edition. Clayton South, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxxii + 1,060 pp. ISBN 978-1486309696.
- Copland, S.J. (1947). "Taxonomic Notes on the Genus Ablepharus (Sauria: Scincidae). I. A New Species from the Darling River". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 71: 282–286. (Ablepharus kinghorni, new species, pp. 282–285, Figures 1–3).
- Couper, P.J.; Hoskin, C.J.; Potter, S.; Bragg, J.G.; Moritz, C. (2018). "A new genus to accommodate three skinks currently assigned to Proablepharus (Lacertilia: Scincidae)". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 60: 227–231. (Austroablepharus kinghorni, new combination).
- Fuhn, I.E. (1969). "The 'Polyphyletic' Origin of the Genus Ablepharus (Reptilia, Scincidae): a Case of Parallel Evolution". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 7 (1): 67–76. (Proablepharus kinghorni, new combination).