The Fuerteventura skink (Chalcides simonyi) is an endangered ovoviviparous species of skink in the family Scincidae. Skinks are generally characterized by their smaller legs and less pronounced necks compared to typical lizards.
Etymology The specific name, simonyi, is in honor of Viennese naturalist Oskar Simony (1852–1915), who also described El Hierro giant lizard in the same region.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Chalcides simonyi, p. 244).
Geographic range C. simonyi is found only on the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
Habitat The natural habitats of C. simonyi are temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, rocky areas, pastureland, and urban areas.
References
Further reading Steindachner F (1891). "Ueber die Reptilien und Batrachier der westlichen und östlichen Gruppe der canarischen Inseln ". Ann. K. K. Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums, Wien 6: 287–306. (Chalcides simonyi, new species, pp. 299–300). (in German).