Typhlacontias punctatissimus, also known commonly as the dotted blind dart skink, the speckled burrowing skink, and the speckled western burrowing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southern Africa. Three subspecies are recognized.
Geographic range T. punctatissimus found in Angola and Namibia.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of T. punctatissimus is desert at altitudes from sea level to .
Description A small burrowing skink, T. punctatissimus usually has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Maximum recorded SVL is . It has no eyelids, no external ear openings, and usually no legs. However, some specimens may have rudimentary hind limbs. Dorsally, it is golden brown, with many black dots forming lines. The ventral surface of the tail is silvery blue.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., 112 color plates. . (Typhlacontias punctatissimus, pp. 146–147 + Plate 101).
Behavior T. punctatissimus is terrestrial and fossorial.
Reproduction T. punctatissimus is viviparous.
Subspecies Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. Typhlacontias punctatissimus bogerti Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei Typhlacontias punctatissimus punctatissimus
Etymology The subspecific name, bogerti, is in honor of American herpetologist Charles Mitchill Bogert.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Typhlacontias bogerti, p. 30).
The subspecific name, brainei, is in honor of Steve Braine, who was a ranger at Skeleton Coast National Park, Namibia.
References
Further reading Bocage JVB (1873). "Mélanges erpétologiques. II. Sur quelques Reptiles et Batraciens nouveaux, rares ou peu connus d'Afrique occidentale". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes, Academia Real das Sciencias da Lisboa 4 (15): 209–227. (Typhlacontias punctatissimus, new species, pp. 213–214). (in French). Haacke WD (1997). "Systematics and biogeography of the southern African scincine genus Typhlacontias (Reptilia: Scincidae)". Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 47 (1–2): 139–163. (Typhlacontias punctatissimus brainei, new subspecies, pp. 150–151 + Figures 3c, 8). Laurent RF (1964). "Reptiles et batraciens de l'Angola (troisième contribution)". Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (DIAMANG), Serviços Culturais, Museu do Dundo (Angola) 67: 1–165. (Typhlacontias bogerti, new species, p. 82). (in French). Whiting AS, Bauer AM, Sites JW (2003). "Phylogenetic relationships and limb loss in sub-Saharan African scincine lizards (Squamata: Scincidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29 (3): 582–598.