''Graciliscincus'' is a lizard
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Scincidae. The genus is indigenous to
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
.
Species and geographic range
The genus ''Graciliscincus'' contains the single
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
''Graciliscincus shonae'', known
commonly as Sadlier's skink or the gracile burrowing skink.
[
]
Geographic range
''G. shonae'' is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to New Caledonia.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
of ''G. shonae'' is forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, at altitudes of .[
]
Etymology
The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''shonae'', is in honor of Shona von Sturmer Sadlier, who was the wife of the describer.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Graciliscincus shonae'', p. 242).]
Conservation status
''G. shonae'' is threatened by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
and fragmentation.[
]
References
Further reading
* Adler GH, Austin CC, Dudley R
Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the 20 ...
(1995). "Dispersal and speciation of skinks among archipelagos in the tropical Pacific Ocean". ''Evolutionary Ecology'' 9: 529–541.
* Sadlier RA (1987). "A review of the scincid lizards of New Caledonia". ''Records of the Australian Museum'' 39 (1): 1-66. (''Gentiliscincus'', new genus, p. 12; ''G. shonae'', new species, p. 12).
External links
Skinks
Skinks of New Caledonia
Endemic fauna of New Caledonia
Monotypic lizard genera
Taxa named by Ross Allen Sadlier
{{Eugongylinae-stub