Prasinohaema virens
The green-blooded skink (Prasinohaema virens), sometimes (ambiguously) known as green tree skink, is a scincid lizard species native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. This small and arboreal lizard is common, but poorly known. Physiology The skink has developed setae on its toe pads (or digit pads) for climbing analogous to those of geckos and anoles, but the trait is believed to have evolved independently to these groups, 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. Other skinks within the genus Lipinia have also evolved toe pad 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. Blood As in other lizards of the genus 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, and is the result of