Carinascincus

Carinascincus
Carinascincus metallicus, metallic skink, near Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Subfamily:	Eugongylinae
Genus:	Carinascincus Wells & Wellington, 1985
Species
Eight, see text.
Synonyms
Niveoscincus Hutchinson et al., 1990

Carinascincus is a genus of skinks (family Scincidae), commonly called snow skinks[1] or cool-skinks[2] and residing mainly in Tasmania or Victoria, Australia.[3] Then recognised as the genus Niveoscincus, it was found to belong to a clade with the genera Carlia, Lampropholis and others of the Eugongylus group within Lygosominae.[4] Cogger has rejected the use of the junior name Niveoscincus and recognizes the valid senior generic name Carinascincus for the group.[5] For similar skinks see genera Pseudemoia, Lampropholis, and Bassiana. These skinks have adapted to the cooler weather of southern Australia and particularly Tasmania, hence the common names.

Species

• Carinascincus coventryi (Rawlinson, 1975) – southern forest cool-skink
• Carinascincus greeni (Rawlinson, 1975) – alpine cool-skink or northern snow skink
• Carinascincus metallicus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) – metallic skink or metallic cool-skink
• Carinascincus microlepidotus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) – boulder cool-skink or southern snow skink
• Carinascincus ocellatus (Gray, 1845) – spotted skink, ocellated cool-skink, or ocellated skink
• Carinascincus orocryptus (Hutchinson, Schwaner & Medlock, 1988) – Tasmanian mountain skink, heath cool-skink, or mountain skink
• Carinascincus palfreymani (Rawlinson, 1974) – Pedra Branca skink, Pedra Branca cool-skink, or red-throated skink
• Carinascincus pretiosus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) – Tasmanian tree skink or agile cool-skink

References

1. Wilson S, Swan G (2003). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. Second Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishing.
2. Carinascincus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
3. http://www.cyberlizard.org.uk/skinks_niveoscincus.htm Niveoscincus
4. Austin, J.J.; Arnold, E.N. (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 39 (2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011. PMID 16473026.
5. Cogger (2014).

Further reading

• Hutchinson MN, Donnellan SC, Baverstock PR, Krieg M, Simms S, Burgin S (1990). "Immunological Relationships and Generic Revision of the Australian Lizards Assigned to the Genus Leiolopisma (Scincidae, Lygosominae)". Australian J. Zool. 38 (5): 535–554. (Niveoscincus, new genus).
• Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-064 310 0350.
• Wells, Richard W.; Wellington, C. Ross (1985). "A Classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia". Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplemental Series (1): 1-61. (Carinascincus, new genus, p. 24).