{{Short description|Genus of lizards}} __NOTOC__{{Italic title}} {{Automatic Taxobox | fossil_range = [[Late Miocene]]/[[Early Pliocene]]–Recent<ref>{{Cite journal| pmid = 11487407| pmc = 1088783| year = 2001| last1 = Carranza| first1 = S.| author-link = species:Salvador Carranza| title = Parallel gigantism and complex colonization patterns in the Cape Verde scincid lizards ''Mabuya'' and ''Macroscincus'' (Reptilia: Scincidae) revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences| journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences| volume = 268| issue = 1476| pages = 1595–603| last2 = Arnold| first2 = E.N.| author-link2 = Edwin Nicholas Arnold| last3 = Mateo| first3 = J.A.| author3-link = species:José Antonio Mateo Miras| last4 = López-Jurado| first4 = L.F.| author4-link = species:Luis Felipe López Jurado| doi = 10.1098/rspb.2001.1699}}</ref><ref>Karin, B. R., Metallinou, M., Weinell, J. L., Jackman, T. R., & Bauer, A. M. (2016). Resolving the higher-order phylogenetic relationships of the circumtropical Mabuya group (Squamata: Scincidae): An out-of-Asia diversification. ''Molecular phylogenetics and evolution'', 102, 220-232.</ref> | name = Cape Verde mabuyas | image = Mabuja3.jpg | image_caption = [[Vaillant's mabuya]] (''Chioninia vaillantii'') in the Prague Zoo | taxon = Chioninia | authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1845 | subdivision_ranks = [[Species]] | subdivision = 7 species, see [[#Species|text]] }}
'''''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.<ref name = cyberlizards2004>{{cite web|url=http://www.nafcon.dircon.co.uk/skinks_chioninia.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041010235534/http://www.nafcon.dircon.co.uk/skinks_chioninia.htm |title=The Scincidae – ''Chioninia''|work= Cyberlizards|archive-date=2004-10-10|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Description== [[Species]] in the genus ''Chioninia'' are mid-sized to largish [[lizard]]s with cylindrical bodies, tails of medium length, and well-developed arms and legs; the hands and feet have 5 toes each. Their [[cycloid scale]]s are underlaid by [[osteoderm]]s. 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 scale]]s 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.<ref name = cyberlizards2004 />
''Chioninia'' mabuyas have 26–27 [[presacral]] [[vertebra]]e. Their [[palatine bone]]s are in contact with the [[Median (disambiguation)|median]]; the deep [[sphenopalatine notch]] separates the (toothed or toothless) [[Pterygoid processes of the sphenoid|pterygoid]]s and extends forwards to between the centre of the eyes. The fairly small teeth are [[pleurodont]]. The [[ear]] opening is small, and the [[eardrum]]s are hidden in a moderately deep [[ear canal]].<ref name = cyberlizards2004 />
==Species== The following 7 species are recognized as being valid:<ref>[http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?genus=Chioninia&submit=Search ''Chioninia''], The Reptile Database.</ref> *''[[Chioninia coctei]]'' {{small|([[André Marie Constant Duméril|A.M.C. Duméril]] & [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]], 1839)}} – Cape Verde giant skink - extinct *''[[Chioninia delalandii]]'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839)}} – Delalande's skink *''[[Chioninia fogoensis]]'' {{small|([[Arthur O'Shaughnessy|O'Shaughnessy]], 1874)}} – Fogo skink *''[[Chioninia nicolauensis]]'' {{small|([[Hans Hermann Schleich|Schleich]], 1987)}} – São Nicolau skink *''[[Chioninia spinalis]]'' {{small|([[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1906)}} *''[[Chioninia stangeri]]'' {{small|([[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1845)}} – Stanger's skink *''[[Chioninia vaillantii]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1887)}} – Vaillant's mabuya
''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Chioninia''.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2707422}}
[[Category:Chioninia| ]] [[Category:Lygosominae]] [[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]