Pygomeles braconnieri, also known commonly as Braconnier's short skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.
Etymology The specific name, braconnieri is in honor of French naturalist Séraphin BraconnierBeolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Pygomeles braconnieri, p. 36). (1812–1884).Bour R, Brygoo É-R (2013). "Séraphin Braconnier (1812–1884), le premier «garçon de laboratoire» de la chaire des Reptiles et Poissons du Muséum de Paris ". Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de France 148: 503–513. (in French).
Geographic range P. bracconieri is found in southwestern Madagascar.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of P. braconnieri is sandy soil in both the supralittoral zone and forest, at altitudes of .
Description P. braconnieri has no front legs, and the back legs are very small and styliform. It has no visible ear openings.
References
Further reading Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. . Grandidier A (1867). "Liste des reptiles nouveau découverts, en 1866, sur la côte sud-ouest de Madagascar ". Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée et de Sériciculture Comparée, Paris, 2e Série 19: 232–234. (Pygomeles braconnieri, new species, p. 234). (in French and Latin). Miralles A, Hipsley CA, Erens J, Gehara M, Rakotoarison A, Glaw F, Müller J, Vences M (2015). "Distinct Patterns of Desynchronized Limb Regression in Malagasy Scincine Lizards (Squamata, Scincidae)". PLoS ONE 10 (6): e0126074.