Sirenoscincus mobydick
Image credit: Aurélien Miralles
Sirenoscincus mobydick, dead specimen on leaf
Image credit: Mrs Andolalao Rakotoarison

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Scincoidea 

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Scincomorpha
Superfamilia: Scincoidea

Familia: Scincidae
Genus: Sirenoscincus
Species: Sirenoscincus mobydick

Name

Sirenoscincus mobydick Miralles, Anjeriniaina, Hipsley, Müller, Glaw & Vences, 2012

  • Holotype: UADBA -R 70487, (field number MA293, ZCMV 12920), collected by Mirana Anjeriniaina.
  • Type locality: Northwest Madagascar, Sofia region, commune rurale of Port Bergé II, 3 km from the village of Marosely, plateau of Bongolava (15°38’49.7’’S, 47°34’59’’E), 250 m elevation.
  • Etymology: Refers to Moby Dick, the famous albino sperm whale imagined by Herman Melville (1851), with whom the new species shares several uncommon characteristics, such as the lack of hindlimbs, the presence of flipper-like forelimbs, highly reduced eyes, and the complete absence of pigmentation.

References

Primary references

  • Miralles, A. et al. 2012: Variations on a bauplan: description of a new Malagasy “mermaid skink” with flipper-like forelimbs only (Scincidae, Sirenoscincus Sakata & Hikida, 2003). Zoosystema 34(4): 701–719. DOI: 10.5252/z2012n4a3 full article (PDF) Reference page. 
Wikinews has news relating to this subject: Wikinews interviews Aurélien Miralles about Sirenoscincus mobydick species discovery.
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