Gronovi's dwarf burrowing skink

Gronovi's dwarf burrowing skink
Conservation status
	; Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Scelotes
Species:	S. gronovii
Binomial name
	Scelotes gronovii; (Daudin, 1802)
Synonyms[2]
	Seps gronovii ; Daudin, 1802; Scelotes gronovii ; — Brygoo, 1985;

Gronovi's dwarf burrowing skink (Scelotes gronovii) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.[1]

Etymology

Both the specific name, gronovii, and the common name are in honor of Dutch naturalist Laurens Theodorus Gronovius.[3]

Description

S. gronovii has no front legs, and each back leg has only one toe.[2] The snout-to-vent length (SVL) of adults is usually 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in), and the maximum recorded SVL is 7 cm (2.8 in).[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. gronovii is sparse sandy shrubland, at altitudes below 100 m (330 ft).[1]

Behavior

S. gronovii is terrestrial and fossorial.[1]

Reproduction

S. gronovii is ovoviviparous.[2] A litter consists of one or two newborns, each of which has a total length (including tail) of 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in).[4]

References

Conradie, W.; Bauer, A.M.; Alexander, G.J.; Pietersen, D.; Tolley, K.A.; Weeber, J (2022). "Scelotes gronovii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T19955A197401697. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
Species Scelotes gronovii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Scelotes gronovii, p. 109).
Branch (2004).

Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Scelotes gronovii, p. 142 + Plate 47).
Daudin FM (1802). Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles; Ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon; et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini, membre de plusiers sociétés savantes. Tome quatrième. Paris: F. Dufart. 397 pp. (Seps gronovii, pp. 354–358). (in French and Latin).
Heideman, Neil J.L.; Mulcahy, Daniel G.; Sites, Jack W. Jr.; Hendricks, Martin G.J.; Daniels, Savel R. (2011). "Cryptic diversity and morphological convergence in threatened species of fossorial skinks in the genus Scelotes (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Western Cape Coast of South Africa: Implications forspecies boundaries, digit reduction and conservation". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61 (3): 823–833.

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[iucn_status_17_November_2021-1] Conradie, W.; Bauer, A.M.; Alexander, G.J.; Pietersen, D.; Tolley, K.A.; Weeber, J (2022). "Scelotes gronovii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T19955A197401697. Retrieved 30 July 2022.

[RDB-2] Species Scelotes gronovii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Scelotes gronovii, p. 109).

[Brnch-4] Branch (2004).