Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas

Holotype left dentary of *Plestiodon hixsonorum* MSU-VP 779. From Holman (1975).

REPTILIA (Reptiles) SQUAMATA (PART) (Other Lizards) SCINCIDAE (Skinks)

Hixson's Skink
†Plestiodon hixsonorum (Holman 1975)

Conservation Status:
Extinct

Diagnosis:
A large Plestiodon that may be distinguished from living species of the genus on the basis of the following characters: (1) large size, (2) teeth very low-crowned, (3) teeth closely-spaced, their crowns blunt and unswollen, but a slight neck between the crown and the base of the tooth, (4) lingual shelf thick, and (5) Meckelian groove open.

Distribution:
WaKeeney local fauna (Lower Pliocene: Clarendionian) of Trego County, Kansas.
(, Museum Voucher) (, Observation) (, Literature Record) (, iNat Record), ( Fossil)
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Occurrence Summary:
2
Records
2
Museum Vouchers
0
Other Observations

Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Trego (2);

Fossil History:
Known only from the type locality.

Natural History:
Unknown.

Remarks:
The species is named for Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hixson of WaKeeney, Kansas, who were helpful to the MSU field parties in numerous ways.
Tooth counts of Plestiodon hixsonorum compared with some Recent Eumeces species are as follows: P. hixsonorum, 25-27 (26.3) N4; P. anthracinus, 21 ; P. brevilineatus, 24; P. inexpectatus, 24-28 (26.0) N2; P. laticeps, 23-24 (23.5) N2; P. obsoletus, 20-23 (22.3) N7; P. septentrionalis, 22.
Plestiodon hixsonorum differs from the larger skinks of the genus Plestiodon as follows. It differs from P. obsoletus in (1) having less teeth, (2) lower-crowned teeth, (3) more closely spaced teeth, and (4) lacking the swollen crowns of P. obsoletus. It differs from P. laticeps in (1) having less teeth, (2) lower-crowned teeth, and (3) less closely spaced teeth. It differs from P. inexpectatus in (1) being larger and (2) in having lower-crowned teeth.

Bibliography:

1975	Holman, J. Alan. Herpetofauna of the WaKeeney local fauna (Lower Pliocene: Clarendionian) of Trego County, Kansas. Pages 49-66 in Studies on Cenozoic Paleontology and Stratigraphy in honor of Claude W. Hibbard. Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. pp.
2005	Smith, Hobart M. Plestiodon: A replacement name for most members of the genus Eumeces in North America. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (14):15-16
2005	Brandley, Matthew C., Andreas Schmitz, and Todd W. Reeder. Partitioned Bayesian analyses, partition choice, and the phylogenetic relationships of Scincid Lizards. Systematic Biology 54(3):373–390

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