Acontias
Acontias is a genus of limbless skinks, the lance skinks, in the African subfamily Acontinae. Most are small animals, but the largest member of the genus is Acontias plumbeus at approximately snout-vent length. All members of this genus are live-bearing sandswimmers, with fused eyelids. A recent review moved species that were formerly placed in the genera Typhlosaurus, Acontophiops, and Microacontias into this genus, as together these form a single branch in the tree of life. This new concept of Acontias is a sister lineage to Typhlosaurus, and these two genera are the only genera within the subfamily Acontinae.
Species
These 24 species are recognized:Acontias albigularis Conradie, Busschau, & Edwards, 2018 – white-throated legless skinkAcontias aurantiacus – golden blind legless skinkAcontias bicolor Acontias breviceps Essex, 1925 – shorthead lance skinkAcontias cregoi – Cregoe's legless skinkAcontias fitzsimonsi – Fitzsimons's legless skink Acontias gariepensis – Mier Kalahari legless skinkAcontias gracilicauda Essex, 1925 – thin-tailed legless skink, slendertail lance skink Acontias jappi – Japp’s burrowing skink Acontias kgalagadi – Kalahari burrowing skink, Kgalagadi legless skinkAcontias lineatus W. Peters, 1879 – striped dwarf legless skink, lined lance skinkAcontias meleagris – Cape legless skink, golden sand skink; spotted slow skink; thick-tailed blindworm, erdslang, Linnaeus's lance skinkAcontias mukwando Marques, Parrinha, Tiutenko, Lopes-Lima, Bauer & Ceríaco, 2023 – Serra da Neve lance-skinkAcontias namaquensis Hewitt, 1938 – Namaqua legless skink, Namaqua lance skink- Acontias occidentalis V. FitzSimons, 1941 – western burrowing skink, savanna legless skink Acontias orientalis Hewitt, 1938 – eastern striped blindworm, Eastern Cape legless skink Acontias parietalis – Maputaland legless skink Acontias percivali Loveridge, 1935 – Percival's lance skink, Teita limbless skinkAcontias plumbeus Bianconi, 1849 – giant legless skink, giant lance skinkAcontias richardi – Richard’s legless skinkAcontias rieppeli – Woodbush legless skink
- Acontias schmitzi Wagner, Broadley & Bauer, 2012
- Acontias subtaeniatus – stripe-bellied legless skinkAcontias wakkerstroomensis Conradie, Busschau, & Edwards, 2018 – Wakkerstroom legless skink