Scelotes Explained

Scelotes is a genus of small African skinks.^[1]

Species

The following 21 species are recognized as being valid.^[2]

• Scelotes anguinus (Boulenger, 1887) – Algoa dwarf burrowing skink, Boulenger's burrowing skink,^[3]
• Scelotes arenicola (W. Peters, 1854) – Zululand dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes bidigittatus V. FitzSimons, 1930 – Lowveld dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes bipes (Linnaeus, 1766) – silvery dwarf burrowing skink, common burrowing skink
• Scelotes caffer (W. Peters, 1861) – Cape dwarf burrowing skink, Peters's burrowing skink
• Scelotes capensis (A. Smith, 1849) – western dwarf burrowing skink, cape burrowing skink
• Scelotes duttoni Broadley, 1990
• Scelotes farquharsoni Raw, 2020^[4]
• Scelotes fitzsimonsi Broadley, 1994 – Fitzsimons's dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes gronovii (Daudin, 1802) – Gronovi's dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes guentheri Boulenger, 1887 – Günther's dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes inornatus (A. Smith, 1849) – Durban dwarf burrowing skink, legless burrowing skink
• Scelotes insularis Broadley, 1990
• Scelotes kasneri V. FitzSimons, 1939 – Kasner's dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes limpopoensis V. FitzSimons, 1930 – Limpopo burrowing skink
• Scelotes mirus (Roux, 1907) – montane dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes montispectus Bauer, Whiting & Sadlier, 2003 – Bloubergstrand dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes mossambicus (W. Peters, 1882) – Mozambique dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes poensis Bocage, 1895 – Fernando Po burrowing skink
• Scelotes sexlineatus (Harlan, 1824) – striped dwarf burrowing skink
• Scelotes uluguruensis Barbour & Loveridge, 1928 – Uluguru fossorial skink
• Scelotes vestigifer Broadley, 1994 – coastal dwarf burrowing skink

Nota bene

A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Scelotes.

Further reading

• Fitzinger L (1826). Neue Classification der Reptilien nach ihren natürlichen Verwandtschaften. Nebst einer Verwandtschafts-tafel und einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des k.k. zoologischen Museums zu Wien. Vienna: J.G. Heubner. 5 unnumbered pp. + 67 pp. + one plate. (Scelotes, new genus, pp. 23, 53). (in German and Latin).

Notes and References

1. [William Roy Branch|Branch, Bill]
2. www.reptile-database.org
3. [species:Lynn Roy Graham Raw|Raw LRG]
4. Raw LRG . 2020 . A New Species of Scelotes . ZooNova . 1 . 4 . 40–48 . 10.5281/zenodo.3685541. (Scelotes farquharsoni, new species).