Acontias percivali
Encyclopedia
Acontias percivali, also known as Percival's Legless Lizard, Tanzanian Legless Lizard, and Percival's Lance Skink, is a small, legless (snake-like) species
of lizard in the family
Scincidae, collectively known as "skink
s".
is limited to continent
al Africa
and includes regions of Namibia
, Botswana
, Zimbabwe
, South Africa
, Kenya
, Angola
, and Tanzania
.
s by burrowing just below the surface of the soil.
of Acontias percivali:
Acontias percivali tasmani may be a subspecies of Acontias meleagris
as seen after recent DNA sequencing tests.
s that specialize in feeding on beetle
larva
e, earthworm
s, and other slow-moving invertebrate
s. They are live bearing (ovoviviparous
) and have 1 to 5 neonates at a time.
that appear in the pet trade are wild-collected individuals of this species. In captivity, they require a deep layer of sandy substrate and hollow hiding places on the surface. They should be kept warm in the seventies (Fahrenheit) with a slightly warmer spot in the soil with about 30% humidity
. They should be fed small mealworm
s, earthworms, or other slow-moving insect larva
e. They can be kept in groups or alone. Acontias do not require a 'basking lamp' or any special lighting. Male acontias can be distinguished from females by a slightly larger head. Captive breeding is possible, but currently has not been accomplished commercially. Care should be taken to make sure the young are well hydrated by providing higher humidity shortly after their birth.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of lizard in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Scincidae, collectively known as "skink
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
s".
Distribution
The species' rangeRange (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
is limited to continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
al Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and includes regions of Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
.
Habitat
Percival's lance skink inhabits savannaSavanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
s by burrowing just below the surface of the soil.
Subspecies
There are three subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of Acontias percivali:
- Acontias percivali tasmani
- Acontias percivali occidentalis
- Acontias percivali percivali
Acontias percivali tasmani may be a subspecies of Acontias meleagris
Acontias meleagris
Acontias meleagris, the Cape Legless Skink, is a species of skink found in the southern Cape of South Africa. It has no limbs, like most members of the subfamily Acontinae....
as seen after recent DNA sequencing tests.
Description
Percival's lance skinks can be identified by their copper-brown back and gold underside. They are insectivoreInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
s that specialize in feeding on beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e, earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s, and other slow-moving invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s. They are live bearing (ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, or ovivipary, is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos develop inside eggs that are retained within the mother's body until they are ready to hatch...
) and have 1 to 5 neonates at a time.
As pets
Although this animal is poorly understood, it is occasionally seen in pet shops. Most acontiasAcontias
Acontias, the lance skinks, is a genus of limbless skinks in the African subfamily Acontinae. Most are small animals, but the largest member of the genus is Acontias plumbeus at approximately 40 cm. All members of this genus are live-bearing, sandswimmers with fused eyelids...
that appear in the pet trade are wild-collected individuals of this species. In captivity, they require a deep layer of sandy substrate and hollow hiding places on the surface. They should be kept warm in the seventies (Fahrenheit) with a slightly warmer spot in the soil with about 30% humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
. They should be fed small mealworm
Mealworm
Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult...
s, earthworms, or other slow-moving insect larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e. They can be kept in groups or alone. Acontias do not require a 'basking lamp' or any special lighting. Male acontias can be distinguished from females by a slightly larger head. Captive breeding is possible, but currently has not been accomplished commercially. Care should be taken to make sure the young are well hydrated by providing higher humidity shortly after their birth.