Ristella


Ristella is a genus of skinks endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. They are commonly known as cat skinks because of their retractile claws. This genus can be instantly identified by the presence of only four fingers in forelimbs in all the species. All the members look more or less similar and are drab dark brown to blackish in complexion with paler undersides. This poorly known groups of lizards are diurnal, insectivorous, terrestrial to semi fossorial in habits. They inhabit deep leaf-litter and grasslands in montane forests and rainforests.
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Description

Palatine and pterygoid bones in contact on the median line of the palate, which is toothless;palatine notch small, far behind, corresponding to the posterior notch of the tongue. Teeth conical. Eyelids well developed, scaly. Ear-opening distinct. Nostril pierced in a single nasal; no supranasals; prefrontals small or coalesced; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct. Limbs well developed, anterior with 4, posterior with 5 digits; claws completely retractile into a large compressed sheath formed of one large scale cleft beneath.

Geographic range

All species in this genus are endemic to the Western Ghats hill-tracts of southwestern India. Currently these skinks have been recorded from the southern and central Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka states. Hill ranges such as Travancore hills, High Ranges, Anaimalai, Nilgiris, Palni Hills, Coorg, Canara and Goa Ghats have been known to harbour these lizards.

Key to species

Species

The following four species are recognized:
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Ristella.