Haacke's legless skink
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Typhlosaurus
Species:
T. braini
Binomial name
Typhlosaurus braini
Haacke, 1964

Haacke's legless skink (Typhlosaurus braini), also known commonly as Brain's legless skink and Brain's blind legless skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, braini, is in honor of paleontologist Charles Kimberlin Brain.[2][3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. braini is desert, at altitudes of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft).[1]

Description

T. braini is limbless, slender, and uniformly light pink. Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in).[4]

Behavior

Having no limbs, T. braini "swims" in sand dunes, both under the surface and at the surface.[1]

Diet

The diet of T. braini consists of termites and insect larvae.[4]

Reproduction

T. braini is viviparous.[2]

Predators

T. braini is preyed upon by the Namib golden mole (Eremitalpa granti namibensis).[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bauer AM, Becker F (2020). "Typhlosaurus braini ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020:https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44978341A44978346.en. Downloaded on 20 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Typhlosaurus braini at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 7 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Beolens, 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. (Typhlosaurus braini, p. 37).
  4. 1 2 3 Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Typhlosaurus braini, p. 136 + Plate 43).

Further reading

  • Broadley DG (1968). "A review of the African genus Typhlosaurus Wiegmann (Sauria: Scincidae)". Arnoldia (Rhodesia) 3 (36): 1–20.
  • Haacke WD (1964). "Description of two new species of lizards and notes on Fitzsimonsia brevipes (FitzSimons) from the central Namib desert". Scientific Papers of the Namib Desert Research Station 25: 1–15. (Typhlosaurus braini, new species, p. 5).
  • Haacke WD (1975). "Herpetological investigations in the sand sea of the southern Namib". Transvaal Museum Bulletin (15): 8–10.
  • Lamb T, Biswas S, Bauer AM (2010). "A phylogenetic reassessment of African fossorial skinks in the subfamily Acontinae (Squamata: Scincidae): evidence for parallelism and polyphyly". Zootaxa 2657: 33–46.



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