Prasinohaema virens

Taxobox
name = Green green-blooded skink
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Sauria
familia = Scincidae
genus = "Prasinohaema"
species = "P. virens"
binomial = "Prasinohaema virens"

The Green green-blooded skink or Green Tree Skink, "Prasinohaema virens", is a scincid lizard species [Austin, C.C. and K.J. Jessing. (1994). Green-blood pigmentation in lizards. "Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology" 109A:619-626.] native to New Guinea. The species is poorly studiedMolecular, morphological, and physiological evolution in South Pacific scincid lizardsAustin, Christopher Cowell, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1995, 213 pages; AAT 9603793] and the species' risk of extinction has not been evaluated by the World Conservation Union, and does not appear in any CITES appendix.

[http://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/14560.jpg]

The skink has developed setae on its toepads (or "digit pads") for climbing analogous to those of geckos and anoles, but the trait is believed to have evolved independently to these groups, and so is an example of convergent evolution. With regards to the trait, other species in the genus, "P. flavipes" and "P. prehensicauda" have the primitive character, and lack the setae. [Jonathan A. Coddington, Cladistic tests of adaptational hypothesese, [http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/pdfs/022550-0.PDF] ] Other skinks within the genra "Lipinia" have also evolved toepad setae, and within the skink family four morphologically distinct adhesive microstructures have evolved, possibly all with independent evolutionary origins. By contrast, anoles and geckos each use a single, common structure, although it appears to have evolved independently in the two groups.

As in other lizards of the genera "Prasinohaema", the blood of "P. virens" is green, rather than the usual red coloration of most vertebrates. The green blood pigmentation results in a strikingly bright lime-green coloration of muscles, bones, tongue, and mucosal tissue. This coloration of the blood is the result of the accumulation of the bile pigment biliverdin in levels that would be toxic in all other other vertebrates. Biliverdin is a compound that is formed from the breakdown of hemoglobin, and is normally converted to bilirubin. However, it is believed that mutation in various genes regulating bilirubin formation lead to the formation and accumulation of high levels of biliverdin. [ [http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1645%2FGE-693R.1] PARASITES IN A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT: A SURVEY OF HEMATOZOA AND A MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF PLASMODIUM IN NEW GUINEA SKINKS]

Import to Australia

In Australia, its import is prohibited under State and Territory legislation because its risk as an invasive species has not yet been assessed. [Vertebrate PestsCommittee, List of Exotic Vertebrate Animals in Australia, Revised January 2006 [http://www.feral.org.au/feral_documents/VPCListJan06.pdf] ] However, live specimens may be imported with a permit issued under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for non-commercial purpose such as research, but not as a household pet. [List of Specimens taken to be Suitable for Live Import. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Last updated 23 October 2006. [http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/lists/import/pubs/live-import-list.pdf] ]

References