Ornithuroscincus

Ornithuroscincus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae.[1][2] All but one species are endemic to New Guinea: in addition to northern New Guinea, Ornithuroscincus noctua occurs on many Pacific islands.[1]

Ornithuroscincus
Ornithuroscincus noctua
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Sphenomorphinae
Genus: Ornithuroscincus
Slavenko, Tamar, Tallowin, Kraus, Allison, Carranza, & Meiri, 2021[1]
Type species
Lobulia sabini
Kraus, 2020
Species

9, see text.

Taxonomy

The genus Ornithuroscincus was erected in 2021 in the revision of the then-polyphyletic genus Lobulia. Its closest relative in Alpinoscincus.[1]

Description

Ornithuroscincus are small to medium-sized skinks with adult snout–vent length of 29–69 mm (1.1–2.7 in). The limbs are short. They are ovoviviparous with 1–3 offspring in each litter.[1]

Habitat

They are terrestrial to semi-arboreal. Most species have restricted ranges in mountainous areas, but some species are widespread and occur in lowland areas.[1]

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid:[2]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Ornithuroscincus.

References
  1. Slavenko, Alex; Tamar, Karin; Tallowin, Oliver J S; Kraus, Fred; Allison, Allen; Carranza, Salvador & Meiri, Shai (2022) [2021]. "Revision of the montane New Guinean skink genus Lobulia (Squamata: Scincidae), with the description of four new genera and nine new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 195 (1): 220–278. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab052.
  2. Ornithuroscincus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 February 2023.
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