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| Saproscincus mustelinus | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Saproscincus |
| Species: | S. mustelinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Saproscincus mustelinus (O'Shaghnessy, 1874) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Saproscincus mustelinus, [3] commonly known as the southern weasel skink or weasel shadeskink, is a small species of skink which is endemic to Australia.
S. mustelinus is usually nocturnal, but is most active in the evening and warm mornings.
S. mustelinus hunts and feeds on small insects and other small invertebrates.
The southern weasel skink is around 45 mm (1.8 in) from snout to vent, is covered in iridescent reddish brown (fine) scales, and has several distinctive white marks behind and below the eye. [4]
If frightened this skink has the ability to lose its tail as a defence mechanism; the tail lies on the ground twitching, distracting the predator so the skink can escape. [5] [6] [7]
The southern weasel skink tends to utilize existing vegetation and fallen timber for shelter.
The southern weasel skink's distribution forms a coastal strip from south Victoria to southern Queensland. [4] [9]
Females lay up to four eggs per clutch in a communal nest. The nests are normally a dugout, a burrow, which contain the eggs of numerous females. [10] Laying normally occurs between spring and late summer.
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions.
Saproscincus is a genus of skinks native to Australia, sometimes referred to as shadeskinks. It contains the following species:
The (American) five-lined skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to North America. It is one of the most common lizards in the eastern U.S. and one of the seven native species of lizards in Canada.
Plestiodon callicephalus, commonly known as the mountain skink, is a species of lizard, a medium-sized member of the Plestiodon skinks, endemic to North America.
The marbled skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Carinascincus palfreymani, known commonly as the Pedra Branca skink, as well as the Palfreyman's window-eyed skink, the Pedra Branca cool-skink, or the red-throated skink, is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia, and is restricted to the windswept Pedra Branca, an island off southern Tasmania of only 2.5 ha, where it is dependent on the seabird colonies. It is the only lizard species found on the island.
The Main's frog is a species of frog in the family Pelodryadidae. It is endemic to Western and Central Australia.
The eastern three-lined skink, also known as the bold-striped cool-skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. A. duperreyi has been extensively studied in the context of understand the evolution of learning, viviparity in lizards, and temperature- and genetic-sex determination. A. duperreyi is classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN.
The African striped skink, commonly called the striped skink, is a species of lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is widespread in East Africa and Southern Africa. It is not a close relation to the Australian striped skink, Ctenotus taeniolatus.
Saiphos equalis, commonly known as the yellow-bellied three-toed skink or simply three-toed skink, is a species of burrowing skink found in eastern Australia. It is the only species classified under the genus Saiphos.
Cryptoblepharus australis, commonly called the inland snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink in the genus Cryptoblepharus.
Thwaites's skink, also known commonly as the fourtoe snakeskink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.
Nessia burtonii, commonly known as Burton's nessia, Gray's snake skink, or the three-toed snake skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.
The desert rainbow-skink is an Australian skink in the genus Carlia, commonly known as four-fingered skinks, from the subfamily Lygosominae. It is native to desert woodland regions throughout most of the Northern Territory, the north of Western Australia, and the far north-west of South Australia. It was originally classified as Leiolopisma triacantha, and is sometimes known as the three-spined rainbow-skink.
Strophurus intermedius, also known commonly as the eastern spiny-tailed gecko or the southern spiny-tailed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to semi-arid regions of Australia in New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, in mallee shrubland and woodland habitats.
The saltbush Morethia skink, or more commonly referred to as saltbush skink, is a species of skink found in Australia. They are part of an 8 species genus of Morethia, which are all endemic to Australia. Akin to other members of the Morethia genus, saltbush skinks feature transparent disks as eye covers and eyelids which are stationary, along with specialised limbs which enable quick traversal of sand dunes. Taxonomically, the species was first classified by German explorer Wilhelm Karl Hartwig in 1871.
Saproscincus challengeri, also known commonly as the Border Ranges shadeskink, Challenger's skink, the challenging shade skink, and the orange-tailed shadeskink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.
Saproscincus czechurai, also known commonly as Czechura's litter-skink, Czechura's skink, and the wedge-snouted shadeskink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Queensland in Australia.
Belonging to the largest group of reptiles in Australia, Ctentotus, the pale-rumped ctenotus or regal striped skink is a medium-sized species of skink with an arid distribution restricted to the Australian Mainland.
The Shark Bay broad-blazed slider is a species of skink found in Western Australia. It was described by Storr in 1986.
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