Prickly Skink
| Prickly Skink Lizard | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia (paraphyletic) |
| (unranked): | Sauria |
| Order: | Squamata (paraphyletic) |
| Infraorder: | Scincomorpha |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Subfamily: | Lygosominae |
| Genus: | Gnypetoscincus |
| Species: | G. queenslandiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae | |
Gnypetoscincus is a monotypic genus of skinks (family Scincidae). It contains a single species, the Prickly Skink, (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae).
These skinks have rough, keeled scales, unlike the skin of most small skinks which tends to be smooth. They are found only in tropical north Queensland.
It belongs to a clade in the Sphenomorphus group which contains such genera as Ctenotus and Anomalopus. Even closer to the Prickly Skink seems the genus Eulamprus.(Austin & Arnold 2006)
References
- Austin, J.J. & Arnold, E.N. (2006): Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39(2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract)
Further Reading
Shoo, Luke P.; Wilson, Rohan; Williams, Yvette M. (22 January 2014). "Putting it back: Woody debris in young restoration plantings to stimulate return of reptiles". Ecological Management & Restoration 15 (1): 84–87. doi:10.1111/emr.12079.
Sumner, Joanna; Rousset, Francois; Estoup, Arnaud; Moritz, Craig (August 2001). "‘Neighbourhood’ size, dispersal and density estimates in the prickly forest skink (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) using individual genetic and demographic methods". Molecular Ecology 10 (8): 1917–1927. doi:10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01337.x. PMID 11555236. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
Sumner, Joanna (May 2005). "Decreased relatedness between male prickly forest skinks (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) in habitat fragments". Conservation Genetics 6 (3): 333-340. doi:10.1007/s10592-005-4959-1. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
Sumner, Joanna (June 2006). "Higher relatedness within groups due to variable subadult dispersal in a rainforest skink, Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae". Austral Ecology 31 (4): 441-448. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01599.x. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
Sumner, Joanna; Jessop, Tim; Paetkau, David (February 2004). "Limited effect of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation on molecular diversity in a rain forest skink, Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae.". Molecular Ecology 13 (2): 259-269. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.02056.x. Retrieved 26 April 2015.