Overview
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Niveoscincus is a genus of skinks (family Scincidae), commonly called Snow Skinks1] or Cool-skinks[2] and residing mainly in Tasmania or Victoria, Australia.[3] It belongs to a clade with the genera Carlia, Lampropholis and possibly others of the Eugongylus group.[4] For similar skinks see genera Pseudemoia, Lampropholis, and Bassiana. These skinks have adapted to the cooler weather of southern Australia and particularly Tasmania, hence the common names.
Species
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- Niveoscincus coventryi (Rawlinson, 1975) ? Southern Forest Cool-skink
- Niveoscincus greeni (Rawlinson, 1975) ? Alpine Cool-skink or Northern Snow Skink
- Niveoscincus metallicus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) ? Metallic Skink or Metallic Cool-skink
- Niveoscincus microlepidotus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) ? Boulder Cool-skink or Southern Snow Skink
- Niveoscincus ocellatus (Gray, 1845) ? Spotted Skink, Ocellated Cool-skink, or Ocellated Skink
- Niveoscincus orocryptus (Hutchinson, Schwaner & Medlock, 1988) ? Tasmanian Mountain Skink, Heath Cool-skink, or Mountain Skink
- Niveoscincus palfreymani (Rawlinson, 1974) ? Pedra Branca Skink, Pedra Branca Cool-skink, or Red-throated Skink
- Niveoscincus pretiosus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) ? Tasmanian Tree Skink or Agile Cool-skink
References
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- ^ Wilson S, Swan G. A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. Second edition. Sydney:New Holland Publ., 2003
- ^ Niveoscincus, Reptiles Database
- ^ http://www.cyberlizard.plus.com/skinks_niveoscincus.htm Niveoscincus
- ^ Austin, J.J. & Arnold, E.N. (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)
Taxonomy
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The Genus Niveoscincus is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 8 species and subspecies in the Genus Niveoscincus: N. coventryi (Southern Forest Cool-Skink) · N. greeni (Northern Snow Skink) · N. metallicus (Metallic Cool-Skink) · N. microlepidotus (Southern Snow Skink) · N. ocellatus · N. orocryptus (Heath Cool-Skink) · N. palfreymani (Pedra Branca Cool-Skink) · N. pretiosus (Tasmanian Tree Skink)
References
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- ^ Wilson S, Swan G. A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. Second edition. Sydney:New Holland Publ., 2003
- ^ Niveoscincus, Reptiles Database
- ^ http://www.cyberlizard.plus.com/skinks_niveoscincus.htm Niveoscincus
- ^ Austin, J.J. & Arnold, E.N. (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)
Sources
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- The distribution map on the Distribution tab comes from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and is used with permission.
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