Kingdom Animalia Suborder Sauria Family Scincidae Scientific name Eumeces schneideri Higher classification Eumeces Order Scaled reptiles | Subphylum Vertebrata Infraorder Scincomorpha Genus Eumeces Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
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Similar Skink, Reptile, Eumeces, Scincus scincus, Chalcides ocellatus | ||
Berber skinks mating eumeces schneideri
Eumeces schneideri, commonly known as Schneider's skink or the Berber skink, is a species of skink endemic to Central Asia, Western Asia, and North Africa.
Contents
- Berber skinks mating eumeces schneideri
- Etymology
- Description
- Subspecies
- Geographic distribution
- References
Etymology
Both the specific name, schneideri, and one of the common names, Schneider's skink, are in honor of German zoologist, Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider.
Description
Head moderate; snout short, obtuse. Nasal rather large, usually divided, in contact with the two anterior upper labials; no postnasal; 5 supraoculars, the three anterior in contact with the frontal; parietals entirely separated by the interparietal; 4 or 5 pairs of nuchals; ear-opening rather large, with 4 or 5 long pointed lobules anteriorly; 2 azygos postmentals. 22 to 28 scales round the middle of the body, perfectly smooth, the laterals smallest, those of the two median dorsal series very broad and larger than the ventrals. The length of the hind limb is contained 2.5 to 3 times in the length from snout to vent. When pressed against the body, the limbs just meet or fail to meet. A series of transversely enlarged subcaudals.
Olive-grey or brownish above, uniform or with irregular golden-yellow spots or longitudinal streaks; a yellowish lateral streak, extending from below the eye to the hind limb, is constant; lower surfaces yellowish white.
Size: from snout to vent, 16.5 cm (6.5 inches); plus tail, 20 cm (8 inches).
Subspecies
Five subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Eumeces.
Geographic distribution
Eastern Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, western Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran (Kavir desert), Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Transcaucasia, Russia (Dagestan), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, eastern Georgia, southern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Asia Minor, Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northwestern India.