Paracontias minimus ( Mocquard, 1906 )

Glaw, Jörn Köhler Miguel Vences Martina Erbacher Frank, 2010, Systematics of limbless scincid lizards from northern Madagascar: morphology, phylogenetic relationships and implications for classification (Squamata: Scincidae), Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 10 (2), pp. 147-159 : 148

Paracontias minimus ( Mocquard, 1906)

Identity

This enigmatic species of limbless skink has remained largely unknown because no additional material was reported since the description of the two type specimens (MNHN 1905.270 and 1905.270A). For this reason, Brygoo (1981) even doubted the Malagasy origin of those types. Due to great external similarities, a relationship to the sand-dwelling species of Voeltzkowia Boettger was suspected ( Glaw and Vences 1994). We recently found several specimens that largely agree with the original description and, upon examination of the types of Cryptoposcincus minimus Mocquard , we consider them as belonging to this species (see Remarks below). Molecular phylogenetic results of Crottini et al. (2009) based on the newly collected specimens have provided clear evidence for their phylogenetic position being nested within the genus Paracontias Mocquard, 1894 , thus suggesting the latter name as a senior synonym of Cryptoposcincus Mocquard, 1906 (misspelled Cryptoscincus by Crottini et al. 2009). Consequently, we adopt this synonymy here by transferring the type species of Cryptoposcincus to Paracontias , which results in the combination Paracontias minimus (see Crottini et al. 2009).