Acontias percivali

Acontias percivali

Percival's lance skink, Percival's legless lizard, Tanzanian legless lizard

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SPECIES
Acontias percivali

Acontias percivali, also known commonly as Percival's lance skink, Percival's legless lizard, and the Tanzanian legless lizard, is a species of small, legless (snake-like) lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Africa.

Animal name origin

The specific name, percivali, is in honor of British naturalist Arthur Blayney Percival (1874–1940), who was a game warden in East Africa.

Appearance

Percival's lance skink can be identified by its copper-brown back and gold underside. It is an insectivores that specializes in feeding on beetle larvae, earthworms, and other slow-moving invertebrates.

Distribution

Geography

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Biogeographical realms

The geographic range of A. percivali is limited to continental Africa and includes regions of Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

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Percival's lance skink inhabits savannas by burrowing just below the surface of the soil.

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Acontias percivali habitat map
Acontias percivali habitat map

Mating Habits

A. percivali is ovoviviparous and has one to five young at a time.

Domestication

Although this A. percivali is poorly understood, it is occasionally seen in pet shops. Most Acontias specimens in the pet trade are wild-collected. In captivity, they require a deep layer of sandy substrate and hollow hiding places on the surface. Captive breeding may be possible, but currently has not been accomplished commercially.

References

1. Acontias percivali Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acontias_percivali
2. Acontias percivali on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44960134/44960137

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