__NOTOC__ ''Chioninia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

skinks Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

, lizards in the subfamily

Lygosominae Lygosominae is the largest subfamily of skinks in the family Scincidae. The subfamily can be divided into a number of genus groups. If the rarely used taxonomic rank of infrafamily is employed, the genus groups would be designated as such, but ...

. For long, this genus was included in the "

wastebin taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically define ...

" ''

Mabuya ''Mabuya'' is a genus of long-tailed skinks restricted to species from various Caribbean islands. They are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is viviparous, having a highly evolved placenta that resembles that of euthe ...

''. The genus ''Chioninia'' contains the

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

mabuyas.

Description

Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

in the genus ''Chioninia'' are mid-sized to largish

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...

s with cylindrical bodies, tails of medium length, and well-developed arms and legs; the hands and feet have 5 toes each. Their

cycloid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

s are underlaid by

osteoderm Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinc ...

s. The scales on the back and belly are similar in shape, but those on the back are keeled. The scales on the top of the head are generally flat and subimbricate; they have a pair of supranasal scales and the frontoparietal and

prefrontal scale The prefrontal scales on snakes and other reptiles are the scales connected to the frontals, towards the tip of the snout, which are in contact with the internasals. See also * Snake scales * Scale (zoology) In most biological nomenclature, a ...

s are paired or fused. The third supraocular scale is the hindmost one that contacts the

frontal scale Frontal scale refers to the scales of a reptile which lie in the general region of the forehead of a snake, more specifically between the eyes and to the anterior of this area. These are analogous to the ''frontal bone'' on a human which correspo ...

, and the secondary

temporal scales Temporal may refer to: Entertainment * Temporal (band), an Australian metal band * ''Temporal'' (Radio Tarifa album), 1997 * ''Temporal'' (Love Spirals Downwards album), 2000 * ''Temporal'' (Isis album), 2012 * ''Temporal'' (video game), a 200 ...

touch each other. The

nasal scale In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Sometimes this ...

is undivided. ''Chioninia'' mabuyas have 26–27 presacral

vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...

e. Their

palatine bone In anatomy, the palatine bones () are two irregular bones of the facial skeleton in many animal species, located above the uvula in the throat. Together with the maxillae, they comprise the hard palate. (''Palate'' is derived from the Latin ...

s are in contact with the median; the deep sphenopalatine notch separates the (toothed or toothless)

pterygoid Pterygoid, from the Greek for 'winglike', may refer to: * Pterygoid bone, a bone of the palate of many vertebrates * Pterygoid processes of the sphenoid bone ** Lateral pterygoid plate ** Medial pterygoid plate * Lateral pterygoid muscle * Med ...

s and extends forwards to between the centre of the eyes. The fairly small teeth are

pleurodont Pleurodont is a form of tooth implantation common in reptiles of the order Squamata, as well as in at least one temnospondyl. The labial (cheek) side of pleurodont teeth are fused (ankylosed) to the inner surface of the jaw bones The jaw is an ...

. The ear opening is small, and the

eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the air ...

s are hidden in a moderately deep

ear canal The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the pinna to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. Stru ...

Species

The following 7 species are recognized as being valid:''Chioninia''
The Reptile Database. *'' Chioninia coctei'' – Cape Verde giant skink - extinct *'' Chioninia delalandii'' – Delalande's skink *''

Chioninia fogoensis ''Chioninia fogoensis'' (English: Fogo skink or Santo Antão skink) is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to the island of Santo Antão, Cape Verde. The species was named by Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy in 1874. Aft ...

'' – Fogo skink *''

Chioninia nicolauensis ''Chioninia nicolauensis'' (English: São Nicolau skink) is a species of skinks in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = ...

'' – São Nicolau skink *''

Chioninia spinalis ''Chioninia spinalis'' is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, and has been found on the islands of Sal, Boa Vista, Maio, Santiago, Fogo and several smaller islets. Subspecies There are five ...

'' *'' Chioninia stangeri'' – Stanger's skink *'' Chioninia vaillantii'' – Vaillant's mabuya ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atte ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Chioninia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2707422 Lygosominae Taxa named by John Edward Gray