Nessia sarasinorum

Nessia sarasinorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Sauria
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Scincidae
Subfamily:	Scincinae
Genus:	Nessia
Species:	N. sarasinorum
Binomial name
Nessia sarasinorum (F. Müller, 1889)
Synonyms
Acontias sarasinorum F. Müller, 1889 Nessia sarasinorum — Deraniyagala, 1931[1]

Nessia sarasinorum, commonly known as Sarasins' snake skink or Müller's nessia, is a species of skink, which is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.

Etymology

The specific name, sarasinorum, is in honor of Swiss zoologists Karl Friedrich Sarasin and Paul Benedict Sarasin, who were cousins.^[2]

Habitat and distribution

A dry zone skink, N. sarasinorum is known in Sri Lanka from Maha oya, Lahugala Kitulana National Park, Polgahawela, Polonnaruwa, Galigamuwa, Buttala, Inamaluwa, Dambulla, Kandalama, and Batticaloa.

Description

Body slender and of equal girth, from head to tail. Snout acute, and short. Fronto-nasal shorter and broader than frontal. Lower eyelid scaly. Midbody scale rows 22. Pre-anals distinctly enlarged. Anterior limbs missing. Each posterior limb reduced to a bud. Dorsum light brown or bluish gray. Individual scales with darker patches. Ventrally lighter.

Ecology and diet

Inhabits moist loose soil or vegetation, such as tree roots.

References

1. "Nessia sarasinorum ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
2. 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. (Nessia sarasinorum, p. 233).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Acontias sarasinorum, p. 228).

• Müller F. 1889. "Sechster Nachtrag zum Katalog der herpetologischen Sammlung des Basler Museums ". Verhandlung der Naturforschender Gesellschaft in Basel 8: 685-705. (Acontias sarasinorum, new species, pp. 702-704). (in German).

• Smith MA. 1935. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Nessia sarasinorum, p. 360).

External links

• http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Nessia&species=sarasinorum
• http://www.arkive.org/nessia/nessia-sarasinorum/image-G119905.html
• http://www.gbif.org/species/5225306