Typhlacontias brevipes
Typhlacontias brevipes, the FitzSimons' burrowing skink, is a skink species is found in the Namib Desert near Swakopmund. It burrows in soft dune sands under leaf litter[1] where it "swims" just below the surface of the loose sand. They are active at night and in the cooler hours of the day when they forage for small insects like ants, termites, antlions and beetles.[2]
| FitzSimons' burrowing skink | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Typhlacontias |
| Species: | T. brevipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Typhlacontias brevipes FitzSimons, 1938 | |
Other names
The species is named from the Latin words “brevis, -e” = short and “pes, pedis” = foot.
- The common name is FitzSimons' burrowing skink
- Alternative name is Short blind dart skink
- Namibian burrowing skink
Description
These slender striped skinks have flattened snouts, small eyes with no eyelids and no external ear openings. The hindlimb rudiments visible on either side of cloaca, and a blue-grey stiped tail.
The body scales are smooth and overlap. Females are viviparous.[3]
References
- "Typhlacontias brevipes". Harvard University. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- "FitzSimon's burrowing skink". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- "FitzSimon's burrowing skink". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
External links
Photographs available at:
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