Subdoluseps nilgiriensis

Subdoluseps nilgiriensis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Subdoluseps
Species:	S. nilgiriensis
Binomial name
Subdoluseps nilgiriensis Ganesh, Srikanthan, Ghosh, Adhikari, Kumar, & Datta-Roy, 2021

The Nilgiri gracile skink (Subdoluseps nilgiriensis) is a species of skink found in Western Ghats ranges in the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, South India.

Description

Subdoluseps nilgiriensis can be identified by: slender, small-sized body (47–67 mm); sandy brown above, with each scale tipped with black; a thick black lateral band from snout to tail; a distinct white labial streak; dirty white venter, with throat having mild black striations; 28–29 midbody scale rows; 71–74 mid ventral scales; 66–69 paravertebral scales.

Etymology

This species was named after its type locality - the Nilgiri hills, in the Western Ghats of South India.

Discovery

Subdoluseps nilgiriensis was discovered by scientists in the Anaikatti and Mulli hills of the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu, in a farmland surrounded by deciduous forests. First found in 2019, after many months of research it was named and described as new to science, in 2021.

Natural history

Subdoluseps nilgiriensis is most likely a diurnal, insectivorous, skink that lives on dry leaf-litter in deciduous forest belts in mid-elevations (800 m) of these hills. These skinks were seen in marginally human-occupied areas as well, including the place where from they were first sighted. Nothing is known about its reproduction and other life-history traits.