Protoblepharus apatani is a species of skink. It was discovered during a herpetological investigation of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and is endemic to the East Himalayan Mountains.Mirza, Zeeshan & Bragin, Andrey & Bhosale, Harshal & Gowande, Gaurang & Patel, Harshil & Poyarkov, Nikolay. (2022). A new ancient lineage of ablepharine skinks (Sauria: Scincidae) from eastern Himalayas with notes on origin and systematics of the group. PeerJ. 10. e12800. 10.7717/peerj.12800.
Etymology The generic epithet Protoblepharus is a Latinized combination of the Greek words proto (πρωτό), meaning ‘primitive’ and blepharo (βλέφaρο) meaning ‘eyelid’, which is a reference to ablepharine skinks. The epithet apatani is meant to honor the Apatani tribe of Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, who helped and assisted the fieldwork in Arunachal Pradesh.
Description Protoblepharus apatani has a small to medium-sized body, up to 63mm. Its body scales are glossy, smooth or striated. The holotype was golden brown with a broad dark stripe gradually diffusing with the background colour at the mid-body.
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