Kaestlea travancorica

Kaestlea travancorica, also known as the Travancore ground skink or Barbour's ground skink, is a species of skink endemic to southern Western Ghats.

Kaestlea travancorica
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Kaestlea
Species:	K. travancorica
Binomial name
Kaestlea travancorica (Beddome, 1870)[2]
Synonyms
Mocoa travancorica Beddome,1870 Lygosoma travancoricum (Beddome,1870) Scincella travancorica (Beddome,1870)

Description

A medium-sized (3.8 cm), blue-tailed forest skink.^[3] Earlier placed in the genus Scincella, it is now included in the genus Kaestlea.^[4] It is diurnal and known to feed on insects on the forest floor.

Distribution

Restricted to the Western Ghats, India. Mainly known from Travancore regions of Tamil Nadu and Kerala states. Studies conducted in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve show that this species occurs mainly in high-altitude rain forest habitat^[5] at elevations between 1,000–1,700 m (3,300–5,600 ft) above sea level.^[1]

References

1. Das, I.; Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B. (2011). "Kaestlea travancorica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T174134A7020778. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T174134A7020778.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Beddome, R.H. (1870). "Descriptions of some new lizards from the Madras Presidency". Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science. 1: 30–35.
3. Das, I. (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other reptiles of India. New Holland Publishers (UK).
4. Eremchenko, V.K. & Das, I. (2004). "Kaestlea: A new genus of scincid lizards (Scincidae: Lygosominae) from the Western Ghats, southwestern India". Hamadryad. 28 (1–2): 43–50.
5. Ishwar, N.M.; Chellam, R. & Kumar, A. (2001). "Distribution of forest floor reptiles in the rainforest of Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, South India". Current Science. 80 (3): 413–418.

Notes

• Ouboter, P.E. 1986 A revision of the genus Scincella (Reptilia: Sauria: Scincidae) of Asia, with some notes on its evolution. Zoologische Verhandelingen (Leiden) (No. 229) 1986: 1-66 PDF
• Smith,M.A. 1937 A review of the genus Lygosoma (Scincida Reptilia) and its allies. Rec. Ind. Mus. 39 (3): 213-234