''Cophoscincopus'' (common name: keeled water skinks) is a
genus of
skink
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 ...
s,
lizards
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 althou ...
in the
family Scincidae. The genus is
endemic to
West Africa.
As suggested by the common name,
species in the genus ''Cophoscincopus'' are
semi-aquatic
In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below.
Semiaquatic animals
Semiaquatic animals include:
* Verte ...
.
Species
There are four recognized species in the genus ''Cophoscincopus''.
[
*'']Cophoscincopus durus
The keeled water skink (''Cophoscincopus durus'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in western Africa.
References
Cophoscincopus
Reptiles described in 1862
Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope
{{skink-stub ...
''
*'' Cophoscincopus greeri''
*'' Cophoscincopus senegalensis''
*'' Cophoscincopus simulans''
'' Nota bene'': 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 ''Cophoscincopus''.
References
Further reading
* Mertens R (1934). "''Die Inseln-Reptilien, ihre Ausbreitung, Variation und Artbildung'' ". ''Zoologica Stuttgart'' 32 (84): 1–209. (in German).
Lizard genera
Taxa named by Robert Mertens
{{Skink-stub