Chernov's skink

Chernov's skink (Ablepharus chernovi) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to northern Eurasia.

Chernov's skink
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Ablepharus
Species:	A. chernovi
Binomial name
Ablepharus chernovi Darevsky, 1953
Subspecies
Four, see text.
Synonyms[2]
Ablepharus chernovi Darevsky, 1953 Ablepharus kitaibelii cernovi Bischoff, 1978 (ex errore) Ablepharus kitaibelii chernovi — Engelmann et al., 1993 Ablepharus chernovi chernovi — J.F. Schmidtler, 1997

Geographic range

A. chernovi is native to Armenia, eastern Turkey, northern Syria, and the valleys of the Arax River and the Hrazdan River in the Caucasus.^[3] Records from Syria may represent another species, A. rueppellii.^[1]

Conservation status

A. chernovi was included in Red Data Book of the USSR in 1984, and in that of Armenia three years later.^[3]

Etymology

The specific name, chernovi, is in honour of Russian herpetologist Sergius Alexandrovich Chernov.^[4]

Subspecies

Four subspecies of Ablepharus chernovi are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

• Ablepharus chernovi chernovi Darevsky, 1953
• Ablepharus chernovi eiselti J.F. Schmidtler, 1997
• Ablepharus chernovi isauriensis J.F. Schmidtler, 1997
• Ablepharus chernovi ressli J.F. Schmidtler, 1997

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of A. chernovi are grassland, shrubland, and forest, at altitudes of 500–2,200 m (1,600–7,200 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

A. chernovi is oviparous.^[2] An adult female may lay a clutch of up to four eggs in June.^[1]

References

1. Tok V, Ugurtas IH, Sevinç M, Böhme W, Crochet P-A, Nilson G, Akarsu F, Lymberakis P (2009). "Ablepharus chernovi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T164622A5912863.en. Downloaded on 15 February 2022.
2. Ablepharus chernovi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
3. Ananjeva NB; Orlov NL; Khalikov RG; Darevsky IS; Ryabov SA; Barabanov AV (2006). The Reptiles of Northern Eurasia. Series Faunistica. Vol. 47. Pensoft. p. 70. ISBN 978-954-642-269-9. ISSN 1312-0174.
4. 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. (Ablepharus chernovi, p. 53).

Further reading

• Darevsky IS (1953). "[Ablepharus chernovi sp. nov. (Reptilia, Sauria) from the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic]". [Bulletin of the Society of Naturalists, Moscow] 58 (2): 39–41. (Ablepharus chernovi, new species). (in Russian).
• Schmidtler JF (1997). "Die Ablepharus kitaibelii - Gruppe in Süd-Anatolien und benachbarten Gebeiten (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae)". Herpetozoa 10 (1/2): 35–62. (Ablepharus chernovi eiselti, new subspecies, pp. 44–47; A. c. isauriensis, n. ssp., pp. 50–52; A. c. ressli, n. ssp., pp. 47–50). (in German, with an abstract in English).
• Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere.580 pp. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7.