Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 3, 2026

Meyer's blind legless skink

Meyer's blind legless skink, also commonly known as Meyer's legless skink, and the variable blind legless skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Acontinae of the family Scincidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

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Meyer's blind legless skink
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Typhlosaurus
Species:
T. meyeri
Binomial name
Typhlosaurus meyeri
Boettger, 1894
Synonyms2

Meyer's blind legless skink (Typhlosaurus meyeri), also commonly known as Meyer's legless skink, and the variable blind legless skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Acontinae of the family Scincidae. The species is native to southern Africa.2

Etymology

The specific name meyeri, is in honor of German ornithologist Adolf Bernhard Meyer.3: 177 

Description

Adults of Typhlosaurus meyeri usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 12–16 cm (4.7–6.3 in). The maximum recorded SVL is 18.8 cm (7.4 in).4

Geographic distribution

Typhlosaurus meyeri is found in extreme southwestern Namibia and adjacent extreme northwestern South Africa.12

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of Typhlosaurus meyeri is sandy desert, at elevations of 50–400 m (160–1,310 ft).1

Reproduction

Typhlosaurus meyeri is ovoviviparous.2

References

References

  1. Bauer AM, Conradie W, Becker F (2020). "Typhlosaurus meyeri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44978352A147707716.en. Accessed on 02 October 2025.
  2. Typhlosaurus meyeri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 7 January 2020.
  3. Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. xiii + 296. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
  4. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. 399 pp. (Typhlosaurus meyeri, p. 138 + Plate 43).
Further reading

Further reading

  • Bauer, A.M.; Branch, W.R. (2003). "The herpetofauna of the Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa". Herpetological Natural History. 8: 111–160.
  • Boettger, O. (1894). "Eine neue Eidechse aus Südwest-Afrika". Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen und Anthropologisch-Etnographischen Museums zu Dresden. 4 (5): [1]. (Typhlosaurus meyeri, new species). (in German and Latin).
  • FitzSimons, V. (1943). "The Lizards of South Africa". Transvaal Museum Memoirs. 1: 1–528. (Typhlosaurus plowesi, new species).
  • Loveridge, A. (1936). "African Reptiles and Amphibians in Field Museum of Natural History". Zoological Series, Field Museum of Natural History. 22 (1): 1–122. (Typhlosaurus meyeri, p. 75).