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Brachymeles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brachymeles
Brachymeles muntingkamay
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Scincinae
Genus: Brachymeles
A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839
Species

See text.

Brachymeles is a genus of skinks (lizards in the family Scincidae). The majority of the species within the genus are endemic to certain island ecosystems in the Philippines. In 2018, the Zoological Society of London through its EDGE of Existence Program listed the Cebu small worm skink (Brachymeles cebuensis) as the 80th most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered reptile species in the world, making it the most endangered member of the genus Brachymeles.

Taxonomy

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Brachymeles is usually placed in the subfamily Scincinae, which seems to be paraphyletic however. Apparently part of a clade which does not seem to include the type genus Scincus, it will probably be eventually assigned to a new, yet-to-be-named subfamily (Austin & Arnold 2006).

Species

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The following species are accepted at The Reptile Database:[1]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Brachymeles.

References

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  1. ^ Genus Brachymeles at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ^ "Cebu Small Worm Skink". 11 April 2018.

Further reading

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  • Austin JJ, Arnold EN (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract).
  • Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Genus Brachymeles, p. 386).
  • Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1839). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome cinquième [Volume 5]. Paris: Roret. viii + 854 pp. (Brachymeles, new genus, p. 776). (in French).