Sphenomorphus darlingtoni

Sphenomorphus darlingtoni is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Papua New Guinea.[2]

Sphenomorphus darlingtoni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Sphenomorphus
Species:
S. darlingtoni
Binomial name
Sphenomorphus darlingtoni
(Loveridge, 1945)
Synonyms[2]
  • Tropidophorus darlingtoni
    Loveridge, 1945
  • Sphenomorphus darlingtoni
    Greer & Parker, 1967

Etymology

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The specific name, darlingtoni, is in honor of American entomologist Philip Jackson Darlington Jr.[3]

Common name

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S. darlingtoni is known as mamng in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. This common name is also applied to plants of the genus Begonia.[4]

Behavior and habitat

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The Kalam people of Papua New Guinea describe S. darlingtoni as a slow-moving lizard that does not escape when caught, and also does not bask in the sun. It prefers damp habitats and is often found in areas of Ischaemum polystachyum grass.[4] S. darlingtoni is fossorial, and has been found in montane rainforest, at altitudes of 1,524–1,829 m (5,000–6,001 ft).[1]

Reproduction

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S. darlingtoni is oviparous.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Tallowin, O.; Allison, A. [in French]; Shea, G. (2015). "Sphenomorphus darlingtoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T42485216A42485223. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T42485216A42485223.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Sphenomorphus darlingtoni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 September 2019.
  3. ^ 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. (Sphenomorphus darlingtoni, p. 65).
  4. ^ a b Bulmer, R.N.H. (1975). "Kalam Classification Of Reptiles And Fishes". Journal of the Polynesian Society 84 (3): 267–308.

Further reading

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  • Greer AE, Parker F (1967). "A new scincid lizard from the northern Solomon Islands". Breviora (275): 1–20. (Sphenomorphus darlingtoni, new combination, p. 16).
  • Greer AE, Shea G (2004). "A New Character within the Taxonomically Difficult Sphenomorphus Group of Lygosomine Skinks, with a Description of a New Species from New Guinea". Journal of Herpetology 38 (1): 79–87.
  • Loveridge A (1945). "New Scincid Lizards of the Genera Tropodiphorus and Lygosoma from New Guinea". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 58: 47–52. (Tropidophorus darlingtoni, new species, pp. 47–48).