''Lankascincus sameerai'', commonly known as Sameera's lanka skink, is a

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), ...

of lizard 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 species 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 the island of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. (''Lankascincus sameerai'', new species, pp. 108–110).)

Taxonomy

''L. sameerai'' most closely resembles ''L. gansi'' and ''L. merrill''.

Habitat and ecology

''L. sameerai'' was first discovered from submontane forest patches in Morningside, Matara. It is a diurnal skink commonly found under leaf litter on the forest floor.

References

Lankascincus Reptiles of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Reptiles described in 2020 {{Sphenomorphinae-stub