Miriam's skink
B. miriamae in Udom Sap, Wang Nam Khiao, Thailand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Brachymeles
Species:
B. miriamae
Binomial name
Brachymeles miriamae
(Heyer, 1972)[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Davewakeum miriamae
    Heyer, 1972
  • Brachymeles miriamae
    — Siler et al., 2011
  • Davewakeum miriamae
    — Chan-ard et al., 2015

Miriam's skink (Brachymeles miriamae) is a skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Thailand.

Taxonomy

In 1972 Heyer described Miriam's skink as a new species in a new genus, giving it the scientific name Davewakeum miriamae.[2] In 2011 Siler et al. included the genus Davewakeum in the genus Brachymeles, creating the new combination, Brachymeles miriamae (Heyer, 1972).[3] In 2015 Chan-ard et al. returned the species to the genus Davewakeum.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, miriamae, is in honor of Miriam Heyer, who collected the holotype, and is the wife of American herpetologist W. Ronald Heyer.[4]

The generic name, Davewakeum, is in honor of American herpetologist David B. Wake.[4]

Geographic range

Miriam's skink is found in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand.[1]

Description

Miriam's skink is limbless.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Species Brachymeles miriamae at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  2. 1 2 Heyer (1972).
  3. ↑ Siler CD, Diesmos AC, Alcala AC, Brown RM (2011). "Phylogeny of Philippine slender skinks (Scincidae: Brachymeles) reveals underestimated species diversity, complex biogeographical relationships, and cryptic patterns of lineage diversification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59 (1): 53-65.
  4. 1 2 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. (Genus Davewakeum, pp. 66, 278–279; species D. miriamae, p. 179).

Further reading

  • Chan-ard, Tanya; Parr, John W. K.; Nabhitabhata, Jarujin (2015). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of Thailand. New York: Oxford University Press. 352 pp. ISBN 978-0199876181.
  • Heyer WR (1972). "A New Limbless Skink (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Thailand With Comments on the Generic Status of the Limbless Skinks of Southeast Asia". Fieldiana Zoology 58 (10): 109–129. (Davewakeum, new genus, p. 124, Figures 4–5; D. miriamae, new species, pp. 124–128, Figure 7).



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