Acontias plumbeus Bianconi, 1849

Taxonomic Classification

Acontias plumbeus, commonly known as the giant legless skink or the giant lance skink, is a species of lizard that belongs to the family Scincidae.

Geographic Distribution

It is distributed across South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

Habitat

This species inhabits seasonally dry savanna, woodland humus, and forest floor leaf litter, with a range that extends from Eastern Cape in South Africa through to Zimbabwe.

Historical Taxonomic Status

It was previously thought that Acontias plumbeus had no genetic variation and existed as a strictly monotypic species.

Updated Taxonomic Findings

However, genetic structure analysis has revealed that Acontias poecilus represents a morphological variation of Acontias plumbeus.

Color Morphology

This accepted morphological variation within the species now includes individuals of different colors: uniform light brown, dark brown, black, and intermediate gray.