Pseudemoia pagenstecheri

Pseudemoia pagenstecheri, also known commonly as the southern grass tussock skink or the southern tussock grass skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Pseudemoia pagenstecheri
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Pseudemoia
Species:	P. pagenstecheri
Binomial name
Pseudemoia pagenstecheri (Lindholm, 1901)
Synonyms[2]
Lygosoma (Liolepisma) pagenstecheri Lindholm, 1901 Pseudemoia pagenstecheri — Hutchinson & Donnellan, 1992

Etymology

The specific name, pagenstecheri, is in honour of German zoologist Heinrich Alexander Pagenstecher.^[3]

Geographic range

P. pagenstecheri is found in eastern New South Wales, Tasmania, and northeastern Victoria, Australia.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of P. pagenstecheri is tussock grassland, especially medium to tall tussock grass.^[4][1]

Reproduction

P. pagenstecheri is viviparous.^[2]

Hybridization

P. pagenstecheri is known to hybridize with two other species in its genus, P. cryodroma and P. entrecasteauxii.^[5]

Conservation status

The Tussock Skink is listed as 'Least Concern' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened species. However acknowledged that the current population is decreasing, especially in the Western Volcanic Plains of Melbourne.^[1] This is further confirmed by the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act listing the species as 'Endangered' in the Volcanic Plains and in the High Country (alpine) areas. The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act uses the common assessment method, the method developed and considered best practice by IUCN, (and used to create the Red List).^[6]

References

1. Shea, G.; Wapstra, E.; Clemann, N.; Hutchinson, M.; Robertson, P. (2018). "Pseudemoia pagenstecheri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T178623A101750455. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T178623A101750455.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Pseudemoia pagenstecheri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 September 2019.
3. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pseudemoia pagenstecheri, p. 199).
4. "Tussock Skink - Threatened Species Link". threatenedspecieslink.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
5. Haines ML, Melville J, Sumner J, Clemann N, Chapple DG, Stuart-Fox D (2016). "Geographic variation in hybridization and ecological differentiation between three syntopic, morphologically similar species of montane lizards". Molecular Ecology 25 (12): 2887–2903.
6. "Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Threatened List". Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.

Further reading

• Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,0333 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
• Hutchinson MN, Donnellan SC (1992). "Taxonomy and genetic variation in the Australian lizards of the genus Pseudemoia (Scincidae: Lygosominae)". Journal of Natural History 26 (1): 215–264. (Pseudemoia pagenstecheri, new combination).
• Lindholm WA (1901). "Bemerkungen und Beschreibung einer neuen Eidechsenart ". In: Lampe E (1901). "Catalog der Reptilien-Sammlung (Schildkröten, Crocodile, Eidechsen und Chamaeleons) des Naturhistorischens Museums zu Wiesbaden ". Jahrbücher des Nassauischen Vereins für Naturkunde 54: 177–222 + Plate III. {Lygosoma (Liolepisma) pagenstecheri, new species, pp. 214–215 + Plate III, figures 3–5}. (in German).
• Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.