S. sepsoides is a viviparous species.[1]C. sepsoides is subarenaceous, and it moves very efficiently by "swimming" under the sand. In fact, it is rarely seen about the ground, and a common method of capturing specimens is to dig through sand dunes near the bases of bushes; this is because its main escape tactic is to dive into the sand. Its limbs are greatly reduced as an adaptation to this fossorial movement. As a result, it is often considered to be a sand specialist.
Habitat and conservation
C. sepsoides occurs in sandy areas and dunes, including open steppe and bushland with sandy soil. It is nocturnal during the summer and diurnal during the winter.[1]
It is a common species that can be locally threatened by habitat loss, overgrazing, and commercial collection, although none of these threats are considered to be very serious, and the species population is stable.[1]
↑ Baha el Din, Sherif (2006). A Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN978-977-424-979-2.
Further reading
Werner, Y. "Distribution of the Saharan Sphenops sepsoides (Reptilia: Scincidae) in Israel and Jordan", Herpetologica 24: 238–267, September 1968
Attum, Omar, Perri Eason, and Gary Cobbs. "Morphology, niche segregation, and escape tactics in a sand dune lizard community", Journal of Arid Environments 68:4 564–573, March 2007
Attum, Omar, Perri Eason, Gary Cobbs, and S. B. El Din. "Response of a desert lizard community to habitat degradation: Do ideas about habitat specialists/generalists hold?", Biological Conservation 133 52–62, November 2006
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