Skink

Skink
	; A Skink found at the Malabar Battery
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Reptilia (paraphyletic);
(unranked):	Sauria;
Order:	Squamata (paraphyletic);
Suborder:	Scleroglossa;
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha;
Family:	Scincidae; Gray, 1825
Subfamilies
	Acontinae; Lygosominae; Scincinae (probably paraphyletic); For genera, see below.

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This article is about the reptile. For other uses, see Skink (disambiguation).

Skink are the most diverse group of lizards. They comprise the family Scincidae which shares the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae (the "true" or wall lizards). Scincidae is the largest of the lizard families with about 1,200 species.

[edit] Description

Skink look roughly like true lizards, but most species have no pronounced neck and sport relatively small legs. Several genera (e.g., Typhlosaurus) have no limbs at all, others, such as Neoseps, have only reduced limbs. Often, their way of moving resembles that of snakes more than that of other lizards. Skinks usually have long, tapering tails that can be shed and regenerated.

Most skink are medium sized with a length from the snout to the vent of up to 12 cm (4.7 in), although there are a few that grow to larger sizes, such as the Corucia, which can reach 35 cm (13.8") from snout to vent.

[edit] Diet

Skink are generally carnivorous and largely eat insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars. They also eat earthworms, snails, slugs, isopods, other lizards, and small rodents. Some species, particularly those favored as home pets, have a more varied diet and can be maintained on a regimen of roughly 60% vegetables/leaves/fruit and 40% meat and meat products (cat or dog food).^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Skink are found in a variety of habitats worldwide. Some species are endangered, such as the Chevron Skink in New Zealand, reported less than 100 times since first being identified in 1906.

Many species are good burrowers. There are more terrestrial or fossorial (burying) species than arboreal (tree-climbing) or aquatic species. Some are "sand swimmers", especially the desert species, such as the mole skink in Florida. Most skinks are diurnal (day-active) and typically bask on rocks or logs during the day.

[edit] Breeding

During the breeding season, some types of skink will exhibit orange or red markings to indicate sexual maturity. Approximately 45% of skink species are ovoviviparous (hatching eggs internally and giving birth to live offspring). The approximately 55% of skink species which are oviparous (egg-laying) give birth in small clutches.

[edit] Predators

Raccoons, foxes, possums, snakes, coatis, crows, cats, dogs, herons, hawks, and kookaburras all prey on skinks.

[edit] Gallery

Bridled mabuya, Mabuya vittata	Blotched blue-tongued lizard	Lampropholis delicata, Sydney, Australia	Skink, photographed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA, 2007
Skink,	Skink, Falling Waters State Park, Florida, USA, 2007	Western skink in San Diego, California	Skink in South Carolina
Skink, BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.	Ctenotus robustus on the walking track at Dorrigo National Park, Australia	Plestiodon japonicus	Saproscincus mustelinus & Endiandra floydii, Australia
Broad-Headed Skink, Plestiodon laticeps Jacksonville, Florida, USA, 2009	Skink, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia	Metallic Skink, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia	Skink, Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, Australia

[edit] Genera

Many large genera, Mabuya for example, are still insufficiently studied, and systematics is at times controversial, see e.g. the taxonomy of the Western Skink, Eumeces skiltonianus.