Haacke's legless skink

Haacke's legless skink
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Typhlosaurus
Species:	T. braini
Binomial name
	Typhlosaurus braini; Haacke, 1964

Haacke's legless skink (Typhlosaurus braini), also known commonly as Brain's legless skink and Brain's blind legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, braini, is in honor of paleontologist Charles Kimberlin Brain.[2][3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. braini is desert, at altitudes of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft).[1]

Description

T. braini is limbless, slender, and uniformly light pink. Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in).[4]

Behavior

Having no limbs, T. braini "swims" in sand dunes, both under the surface and at the surface.[1]

Diet

The diet of T. braini consists of termites and insect larvae.[4]

Reproduction

T. braini is viviparous.[2]

Predators

T. braini is preyed upon by the Namib golden mole (Eremitalpa granti namibensis).[4]

References

Bauer AM, Becker F (2020). "Typhlosaurus braini ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020:https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44978341A44978346.en. Downloaded on 20 October 2021.
Typhlosaurus braini at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 7 January 2020.
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. (Typhlosaurus braini, p. 37).
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. (Typhlosaurus braini, p. 136 + Plate 43).

Haacke WD (1964). "Description of two new species of lizards and notes on Fitzsimonsia brevipes (FitzSimons) from the central Namib desert". Scientific Papers of the Namib Desert Research Station 25: 1–15. (Typhlosaurus braini, new species, p. 5).
Haacke WD (1975). "Herpetological investigations in the sand sea of the southern Namib". Transvaal Museum Bulletin (15): 8–10.
Lamb T, Biswas S, Bauer AM (2010). "A phylogenetic reassessment of African fossorial skinks in the subfamily Acontinae (Squamata: Scincidae): evidence for parallelism and polyphyly". Zootaxa 2657: 33–46.

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[iucn-1] Bauer AM, Becker F (2020). "Typhlosaurus braini ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020:https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44978341A44978346.en. Downloaded on 20 October 2021.

[RDB-2] Typhlosaurus braini at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 7 January 2020.

[3] 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. (Typhlosaurus braini, p. 37).

[Bill-4] 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. (Typhlosaurus braini, p. 136 + Plate 43).