Chioninia

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Scincomorpha

Familia: Mabuyidae
Subfamilia: Mabuyinae
Genus: Chioninia
Species (7): C. coctei – C. delalandii – C. fogoensis – C. nicolauensis – C. spinalis – C. stangeri – C. vaillantii
Name

Chioninia Gray, 1845: 116

Type species: Gongylus (Euprepes) delalandii Duméril & Bibron, 1839, by subsequent designation by Loveridge (1957: 208).
References
Primary references

Gray, J.E. 1845. Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. The Trustees of the British Museum: London. 289 pp. BHL

Additional references

Mausfeld, P., Schmitz, A., Böhme, W., Misof, B., Vrcibradic, D. & Rocha, C.F.D. 2002. Phylogenetic Affinities of Mabuya atlantica Schmidt, 1945, Endemic to the Atlantic Ocean Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (Brazil): Necessity of Partitioning the Genus Mabuya Fitzinger, 1826 (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Zoologischer Anzeiger 241(3): 281–293. DOI: 10.1078/0044-5231-00081 Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Chioninia . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 6 July 2018.

Chioninia is a genus of skinks, lizards in the subfamily Lygosominae. For long, this genus was included in the "wastebin taxon" Mabuya. The genus Chioninia contains the Cape Verde mabuyas.[1]
Description

Species in the genus Chioninia are mid-sized to largish lizards with cylindrical bodies, tails of medium length, and well-developed arms and legs; the hands and feet have 5 toes each. Their cycloid scales are underlaid by osteoderms. The scales on the back and belly are similar in shape, but those on the back are keeled. The scales on the top of the head are generally flat and subimbricate; they have a pair of supranasal scales and the frontoparietal and prefrontal scales are paired or fused. The third supraocular scale is the hindmost one that contacts the frontal scale, and the secondary temporal scales touch each other. The nasal scale is undivided.[1]

Chioninia mabuyas have 26–27 presacral vertebrae. Their palatine bones are in contact with the median; the deep sphenopalatine notch separates the (toothed or toothless) pterygoids and extends forwards to between the centre of the eyes. The fairly small teeth are pleurodont. The ear opening is small, and the eardrums are hidden in a moderately deep ear canal.[1]
Species

The following 7 species are recognized as being valid:[2]

Chioninia coctei (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839) – Cape Verde giant skink - extinct
Chioninia delalandii (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839) – Delalande's skink
Chioninia fogoensis (O'Shaughnessy, 1874) – Fogo skink
Chioninia nicolauensis (Schleich, 1987) – São Nicolau skink
Chioninia spinalis (Boulenger, 1906)
Chioninia stangeri (Gray, 1845) – Stanger's skink
Chioninia vaillantii (Boulenger, 1887) – Vaillant's mabuya

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Chioninia.
References

"The Scincidae – 'Chioninia". Cyberlizards. Archived from the original on 2004-10-10.
Chioninia, The Reptile Database.