Acontias orientalis

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Scincomorpha
Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Amorphea Cladus: Obazoa Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Cladus: Filozoa Cladus: Choanozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Cladus: Olfactores Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Cladus: Eugnathostomata Cladus: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Cladus: Stegocephali Cladus: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Cladus: Sauropsida Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Cladus: Diapsida Cladus: Neodiapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Lepidosauromorpha Superordo: Lepidosauria Ordo: Squamata Infraordo: Scincomorpha

Acontias orientalis Hewitt, 1937

Syntypes (n=3): PEM R5115 (formerly AMG 5030), collected by J. Hewitt on 16 May 1925; PEM R5116 (formerly AMG 8066), collector and date uknown; and PEM R5117, collected by C.D.B. Liebenberg, date unknown.
Type locality: “Grahamstown”, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Acontias meleagris orientalis Hewitt, 1937: 41 [original combination, as subspecies]
Acontias orientalis — Lamb, Biswas & Bauer, 2010: 41 [subsequent combination, elevated to species]

Acontias plumbeus tasmani Hewitt, 1938: 44 [synonymised by Lamb, Biswas & Bauer (2010: 41)]
- Lectotype: PEM R5152 (formerly AMG 5193), collected by Rev. K. Tasman on 5 December 1925.
- Type locality: “Dunbrody, Sundays River, Cape Province [=Eastern Cape Province]”, South Africa.
- Paralectotypes (n=4): PEM R5154–6 and 5165 (formerly AMG 5195), same data as for the lectotype.

Hewitt, J. 1937. A Guide to the Vertebrate Fauna of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Part II: Reptiles, Amphibians, and Freshwater Fishes. Albany Museum: Grahamstown. vii + 141 pp.
Hewitt, J. 1938. Description of new forms of the genus Acontias. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 26(1): 39–48. DOI: 10.1080/00359193809519768
Lamb, T., Biswas, S. & Bauer, A.M. 2010. A phylogenetic reassessment of African fossorial skinks in the subfamily Acontinae (Squamata: Scincidae): evidence for parallelism and polyphyly. Zootaxa 2657(1): 33–46. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2657.1.3 Reference page.

Broadley, D.G. & Greer, A.E. 1969. A revision of the genus Acontias Cuvier (Sauria: Scincidae). Arnoldia Rhodesia 4(26): 1–29. Reference page.
Conradie, W., Branch, W.R. & Watson, G. 2019. Type specimens in the Port Elizabeth Museum, South Africa, including the historically important Albany Museum collection. Part 2: Reptiles (Squamata). Zootaxa 4576(1): 1–45. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4576.1.1 Reference page.

Conradie, W. & Bauer, A.M. 2022. IUCN: Acontias orientalis (Least Concern). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T44975191A197417383. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T44975191A197417383.en. Accessed on 23 January 2026.