Nessia sarasinorum

Nessia sarasinorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Nessia
Species: N. sarasinorum
Binomial name
Nessia sarasinorum
(F. Müller, 1889)
Synonyms
  • Acontias sarasinorum
    F. Müller, 1889
  • Nessia sarasinorum
    — Deraniyagala, 1931[1]

Nessia sarasinorum, commonly known as Sarasins' snake skink or Müller's nessia, is a species of skink, which is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.

Etymology

The specific name, sarasinorum, is in honor of Swiss zoologists Karl Friedrich Sarasin and Paul Benedict Sarasin, who were cousins.[2]

Habitat and distribution

A dry zone skink, N. sarasinorum is known in Sri Lanka from Maha oya, Lahugala Kitulana National Park, Polgahawela, Polonnaruwa, Galigamuwa, Buttala, Inamaluwa, Dambulla, Kandalama, and Batticaloa.

Description

Body slender and of equal girth, from head to tail. Snout acute, and short. Fronto-nasal shorter and broader than frontal. Lower eyelid scaly. Midbody scale rows 22. Pre-anals distinctly enlarged. Anterior limbs missing. Each posterior limb reduced to a bud. Dorsum light brown or bluish gray. Individual scales with darker patches. Ventrally lighter.

Ecology and diet

Inhabits moist loose soil or vegetation, such as tree roots.

References

  1. ↑ "Nessia sarasinorum ". 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 sarasinorum, p. 233).

Further reading

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