Scelotes duttoni

Scelotes duttoni
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Scelotes
Species:	S. duttoni
Binomial name
Scelotes duttoni Broadley, 1990

Scelotes duttoni is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique.[1][2]

Etymology

The specific name, duttoni, is in honor of South African ecologist Paul Dutton.[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. duttoni is the supralittoral zone and dunes, at altitudes of 1–25 m (3.3–82.0 ft).[1]

Description

S. duttoni has no front legs, only vestigial buds. Each back leg has only two digits, the inner digit much longer than the outer.[2] Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in).[4] The tail length is slightly shorter than (SVL). Dorsally, S. duttoni is blackish, with a pale dorsolateral line on each side.[2]

Reproduction

S. duttoni is ovoviviparous.[2] Litter size is two or three young. Each newborn measures 4.5–5.0 cm (1.8–2.0 in) in total length (including tail).[4]

References

1. Conradie, W.; Verburgt, L.; Farooq, H.; Tolley, K.A.; Alexander, G.J.; Raimundo, A.; Sardinha, C.I.V. (2019). "Scelotes duttoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T44979096A44979104. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T44979096A44979104.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Scelotes duttoni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 October 2020.
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 duttoni, p. 78).
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. (Scelotes duttoni, p. 144).

Further reading

• Broadley DG (1990). "The herpetofaunas of the islands off the coast of South Moçambique". Arnoldia (Zimbabwe) 9 (35): 469–493. (Scelotes duttoni, new species).
• Broadley DG (1994). "The genus Scelotes Fitzinger (Reptilia: Scincidae) in Mozambique, Swaziland and Natal, South Africa". Annals of the Natal Museum 35: 237–259.