Giant spiny skink

The giant spiny skink or Poncelet's helmet skink (Tribolonotus ponceleti) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Solomon Islands.

Etymology The specific name, ponceleti, is in honor of the Rev. Jean-Baptiste Poncelet (1884-1958), French missionary and naturalist.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Tribolonotus ponceleti, p. 209).

Habitat The preferred habitat of T. ponceleti is forest at altitudes of .

Behavior Unlike most skinks, T. ponceleti has the ability to vocalize.

Reproduction T. ponceleti is oviparous.. www.reptile-database.org

References

Further reading Austin CC, Rittmeyer EN, Richards SJ, Zug GR (2010). "Phylogeny, historical biogeography and body size evolution in Pacific Island Crocodile skinks Tribolonotus (Squamata: Scincidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57: 227-236. Kinghorn JR (1937). "A new species of scink [sic] from the Solomon Islands". Records of the Australian Museum 20 (1): 1-2 + Plate I. (Tribolonotus ponceleti, new species). McCoy M (2006). Reptiles of the Solomon Islands. Series Faunastica No. 57. Sofia, Bulgaria: Pensoft Publishers. 212 pp.