Added February 29 2004.

The Scincidae

Chioninia

Chioninia is the genus of those lizards formerly considered Mabuya species that are found on the Cape Verde islands.

Mausfeld et al give the characteristics of the genus as follows:

medium- to large-sized lizards with cylindrical bodies
well-developed limbs with 5 digits on both fore- and hindlimbs
medium-sized tails
cycloid scales underlaid by osteoderms (bony plates)
dorsals keeled; dorsals and ventrals similar to each other
26-27 presacral vertebrae
palatine bones in contact with the median; palatal notch separating the pterygoids and extending forwards to between the centre of the eyes
pterygoid teeth absent or present; teeth relatively small and pleurodont
dorsal head scales mostly flat and subimbricate
pair of supranasals; prefrontals and frontoparietals paired or fused; nostril pierced in a single nasal; most posterior supraocular contacted by the frontal is the third; secondary temporals are in contact
ear opening relatively small, with tympanum housed in moderately deep auditory meatus

To go to the Bibliography from a given entry, click on B: to return to the Quick Index, click on I.

	QUICK INDEX
C. delalandii	C. fogoensis	C. geisthardti
C. spinalis	C. stangeri	C. stanjorgeri
C. vaillantii

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
Chioninia
C. delalandii	??	Cape Verde Islands (Fogo and Brava)	102- 140mm	Scalation details (from Joger): 5 supraciliaries, 4 supraoculars, parietals fused, 46-54 scale rows at midbody. Coloration: often a dark spot in the axilla region.B I
C. fogoensis	??	Cape Verde Islands	?"	Scalation details (from Joger): nuchal scales separated by one small scale. Dorsal scales: up to 60 midbody. B I
C. f. fogoensis		Fogo
C. f. antaoensis		Sto Antao
C. f. nicolauensis		Sao Nicolau
C. geisthardti	??	Cape Verde Islands (Sto Antao)	162mm	Scalation details (from Joger): 5 supraciliaries, 4 supraoculars, parietals not fused, 64 scale rows at midbody. B I
C. spinalis	??	Cape Verde Islands	4½-5"	At times considered synonymous with C. stangeri: see EMBL reptile database entry. B I
C. s. spinalis		Fogo		Scalation details (from Joger): 3 supraciliaries, 4 supraoculars, parietals not fused, 38-40 scale rows at midbody.
C. s. maioensis		Maio		Scalation details (from Joger): 3 supraciliaries, 4 supraoculars, parietals not fused, 34-36 scale rows at midbody.
C. s. salensis		Boa Vista, Sal Rey		Scalation details (from Joger): 3-4 supraciliaries, 4 supraoculars, parietals fused, 40-44 scale rows at midbody.
C. stangeri	??	Cape Verde Islands (S. Vicente and Razo)	5-6½"	Scalation details (from Joger): 4-5 supraciliaries, 4 supraoculars, parietals not fused, 40-48 scale rows at midbody. B I
C. stanjorgeri	??	??	?"	Status unclear, may have been confused with C. stangeri: see EMBL reptile database entry for details. B I
C. vaillantii	??	Cape Verde Islands (Cima, Sao Thiago)	4½-7¾"	This is the largest Cape Verdean Mabuya species [Joger]. Scalation details (from Joger): 5-6 supraciliaries, 4-5 supraoculars, parietals fused, 48-54 scale rows at midbody. Coloration: characteristic yellowish tip of snout, two broad lateral bands and three more slender dorsal bands. B I

Bibliography

"On two Collections of Reptiles and Amphibians from the Cape Verde Islands, with Descriptions of three New Taxa", Ulrich Joger, Courier Forschungs-Institut Senckenburg, 1993. Dr Joger very kindly sent me this work, which is very useful for details of some of Cape Verde's geckos and skinks.

"Phylogenetic affinities of Mabuya atlantica, Schmidt 1945, endemic to the Atlantic Ocean archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (Brazil): Necessity of partitioning the genus Mabuya Fitzinger 1826 (Scincidae: Lygosominae)", Patrick Mausfeld, Andreas Schmitz, Wolfgang Böhme, Bernhard Mishof, David Vrcibradic and Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha, Zoologischer Anzeiger 241 (2002), 281-293. Contains details of the DNA analysis which led to the conclusion that the genus Mabuya should be split, and of the new genera subsequently created. My thanks to Dr Schmitz for kindly sending me a copy of this paper.