Schmidt's helmet skink

Schmidt's helmet skink (Tribolonotus schmidti), also known commonly as Schmidt's crocodile skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.^[2]

Schmidt's helmet skink
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Tribolonotus
Species:	T. schmidti
Binomial name
Tribolonotus schmidti Burt, 1930
Synonyms[2]
Tribolonotus schmidti Burt, 1930 Pediporus schmidti — Roux, 1930 Tribolonotus schmidti — Burt, 1932

Etymology

The specific name, schmidti, is in honor of American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt.^[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. schmidti is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).^[1]

Description

The holotype of T. schmidti has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 3.9 cm (1.5 in), and a total length (including tail) of 8.8 cm (3.5 in). It has two rows of enlarged plate-like dorsal scales running down the center of the back. Each row contains more than 20 scales from the back of the head to the beginning of the tail.^[4]

Reproduction

T. schmidti is viviparous.^[2]

References

1. Harlow, P. (2013). "Tribolonotus schmidti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T196650A2470879. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T196650A2470879.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Tribolonotus schmidti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 1 January 2020.
3. 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. (Tribolonotus schmidti, p. 236).
4. Burt (1930).

Further reading

• Adler GH, Austin CC, Dudley R (1995). "Dispersal and speciation of skinks among archipelagos in the tropical Pacific Ocean". Evolutionary Ecology 9: 529–541.
• Austin CC, Rittmeyer EN, Richards SJ, Zug GR (2010). "Phylogeny, historical biogeography and body size evolution in Pacific Island Crocodile skinks Tribolonotus (Squamata: Scincidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57: 227–236.
• Burt CE (1930). "Herpetological Results of the Whitney South Sea Expedition IV. Descriptions of New Species of Lizards from the Pacific Islands (Scincidæ)". American Museum Novitates (427): 1–3. (Tribolonotus schmidti, new species, p. 3).
• Roux J (1930). "Note sur un reptile scincidé des îles Salomon présentant des pres pédiaux ". Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Basel 41: 129–135. (Pediporus schmidti, new combination, p. 129). (in French).