Scincus

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Scincus

| image = Apothekerskink01.jpg

| image_caption = Scincus scincus, common skink or common sandfish

| taxon = Scincus

| authority = Laurenti, 1768

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = Five, see text.

}}

Scincus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus contains four or five species, all of which are typical desert inhabitants, living in sandy and dune-like areas with a hot and dry climate. Species in the genus Scincus can be found from Arabia to the Sahara desert.

Taxonomy

Scincus is the type genus of the subfamily Scincinae. As the subfamily Scincinae appears to be paraphyletic and is in need of revision, it is as yet undetermined which skink genera are closely enough related to Scincus to be retained in the Scincinae. (Austin & Arnold 2006).

Species

The genus Scincus contains five species which are recognized as being valid."Scincus ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

class="wikitable"

|+

!Image

!Species

!Common Name

frameless

|Scincus albifasciatus

{{small|Boulenger, 1890}}

|White-banded sandfish

frameless

|Scincus conirostris

{{small|(Blanford, 1881)}}

|Iranian sandfish

|Scincus hemprichii

{{small|Wiegmann, 1837}}

|Hemprich's sandfish

frameless

|Scincus mitranus

{{small|Anderson, 1871}}

|Eastern sandfish

frameless

|Scincus scincus

{{small|(Linnaeus, 1758)}}

|Common sandfish

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Scincus.

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{aut|Austin, J.J. & Arnold, E.N.}} (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (2): 503–511. {{doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011}} (HTML abstract).

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1758237}}

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Category:Scincus

Category:Lizard genera

Category:Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti

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