Nessia layardi

Nessia layardi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Infraorder: Scincomorpha
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Scincinae
Genus: Nessia
Species: N. layardi
Binomial name
Nessia layardi
(Kelaart, 1853)[1]
Synonyms
  • Acontias layardi
    Kelaart, 1853
  • Acontias (Nessia) layardi
    — Deraniyagala, 1931
  • Acontias (Anguinicephalus) layardi
    — Deraniyagala, 1934
  • Nessia layardi
    — M.A. Smith, 1935[1]

Nessia layardi, commonly known as Layard's snake skink or Layard's nessia, is a species of skink endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, layardi, is in honor of British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard.[2]

Habitat & geographic range

N. layardi is a poorly known skink from the hills of the Central Province and the wet zone coastal areas. Known localities include Millawa, Wellawatte, Lunava, and Polgahawela. It inhabits moist soil and decaying leaf litter, especially at the base of trees, at elevations up to 150 m (490 ft).

Description

Snout subconical. A single loreal present. Limbs and ear opening absent. Supranasals absent. Dorsum brown, each scale with a darker margin.

Reproduction

Eggs are deposited in heaps of coconut leaves or in silt over stony substratum. Eggs are soft-shelled, measuring 6.4 mm × 15.9 mm (0.25 in × 0.63 in), and two eggs are produced at a time around March.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nessia layardi ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ↑ 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. (Nessia layardi, p. 153).

Further reading

External links

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