What is "acontias"

Acontias \A*con"ti*as\, n. [NL., from Gr. ?, fr. ?, dim. ? dart.] (Zo["o]l.) Anciently, a snake, called dart snake; now, one of a genus of reptiles closely allied to the lizards.

Acontias is a genus of limbless skinks, the lance skinks, ( family Scincidae) in the African subfamily Acontinae. Most are small animals, but the largest member of the genus is Acontias plumbeus at approximately snout-vent length. All members of this genus are live-bearing, sandswimmers, with fused eyelids. A recent review moved species that were formerly placed in the genera Typhlosaurus, Acontophiops, and Microacontias into this genus, as together these form a single branch in the tree of life. This new concept of Acontias is a sister lineage to Typhlosaurus, and these two genera are the only genera within the subfamily Acontinae.

Acontias may refer to:

• Acontias a genus of African limbless skinks (family Scincidae)
• Acontias , a genus of North American snakes, homonymous with Acontias and now treated as a taxonomic synonym of Agkistrodon