Scelotes duttoni is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique.
Etymology The specific name, duttoni, is in honor of South African ecologist Paul Dutton.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Scelotes duttoni, p. 78).
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of S. duttoni is the supralittoral zone and dunes, at altitudes of .
Description S. duttoni has no front legs, only vestigial buds. Each back leg has only two digits, the inner digit much longer than the outer. Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . The tail length is slightly shorter than (SVL). Dorsally, S. duttoni is blackish, with a pale dorsolateral line on each side.
Reproduction S. duttoni is ovoviviparous. Litter size is two or three young. Each newborn measures in total length (including tail).Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Scelotes duttoni, p. 144).
References
Further reading Broadley DG (1990). "The herpetofaunas of the islands off the coast of South Moçambique". Arnoldia (Zimbabwe) 9 (35): 469–493. (Scelotes duttoni, new species). Broadley DG (1994). "The genus Scelotes Fitzinger (Reptilia: Scincidae) in Mozambique, Swaziland and Natal, South Africa". Annals of the Natal Museum 35: 237–259.