Lankascincus taylori

{{speciesbox

| name = Lankascincus taylori

| status = VU

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = Ukuwela K, Karunarathna S, Kannishka [sic] S (2021). "Lankascincus taylori ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.1305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T197208A123312052.en. Accessed on 31 July 2022.

| genus = Lankascincus

| species = taylori

| authority = Greer, 1991

}}

Lankascincus taylori, commonly known as Taylor's tree skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.

Etymology

The specific name, taylori, is in honor of American herpetologist Edward Harrison Taylor.Boelens, 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}}. (Lankascincus taylori, p. 261).

Habitat and geographic range

A montane representative of Lanka skinks, L. taylori is found in moist leaf litter, under stones and logs in forests, at elevations from {{convert|470|-|1350|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level,{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} at Sinharaja, Knuckles Mountain Range, Gampola, Hantana, and Udawatta Kele.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Description

The head, body, and tail of L. taylori are long and slender. The midbody scales are in 24-26 rows. The lamellae under the fourth toe number 12-18. The dorsum is chocolate brown. Each dorsal scale has a dark gray horseshoe mark, which is open-ended posteriorly. A dark brown flank band can be seen with blue spots. The throat is grayish with blue spots. The venter is yellow.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Diet

The diet of L. taylori includes insects.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Reproduction

Sexually mature females of L. taylori usually lay 2 eggs at a time.

References

External links

Lankascincus taylori at The Reptile Database. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Lankascincus&species=taylori
Lankascincus taylori at Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Lankascincus_taylori/classification/
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140717120550/http://www.arkive.org/taylors-tree-skink/lankascincus-taylori/ Photos of Taylor's Lanka Skink]
[http://eol.org/pages/794154/literature Books about Lanka Skinks]