A look at the

SKINKS

Family SCINCIDAE

Introduction

The skinks make up the largest family of lizards, with the number of species varying between 800-1,200 depending on which authority one believes.

Skinks are not "household name" lizards to many people, at least to those in Europe. Most non-herpetophiles have a good idea what a gecko, an iguana or a monitor may like look, but skinks have suffered from relative anonymity despite the recent boom in popularity of lizard pets and the corresponding rise in the number of Blue-Tongue Skinks (Tiliqua species) being kept. Among hobbyists and perhaps "serious" researchers, skinks are often overlooked as shy and rather nondescript lizards.

In fact while many skinks are similar in form and behaviour, as a group they show an interesting variety of lifestyles and biological developments. There are striking gradations of limb reduction or loss within many of the genera, while on the other hand some skinks give genuine live birth to their young: not just ovoviviparity (where the young break out of an egg membrane shortly before birth) but true viviparity whereby the young are born with a placenta. A few species also display some evidence of maternal care. Most skinks are on the small side, being less than 12" in total length, but there are a few medium-sized and highly prized species from Australia and the Pacific.

In shape and form skinks are nevertheless a fairly conservative family. The archetypal skink is often easily distinguished by a rather rounded or "cylindrical" body, tapering tail, and most characteristically, smooth and often shiny scales. There is usually an external ear opening and eyes with eyelids, although a few species have vestigial eyes and one species has a transparent "window" in a fused eyelid. The greatest variation tends to be in the limbs, which range from well-developed to absent, and the number of digits can also vary. Few are particularly colourful, although there are some striking exceptions to this rule.

The general characteristcs of skinks are as follows (details from Grzimek):

Top of head covered by large, symmetrically arranged, ossified scales;
Round scales on back and belly are imbricated (overlapping) and usually ossified;
Below the scales are small osteoderms, rounded or hexagonal like the scales themselves and penetrated by symmetrical tubules;
Teeth are pleurodont;
The abdominal musclature is not closely associated with the belly scales;
There are no femoral or preanal pores;
The tongue is free and moderately long, slightly notched at the end and bearing imbricating (overlapping) scalelike papillae;
Body is usually cylindrical;
Head usually ends in sharp snout;
Tail is pointed at the tip.

Legless skinks can be easily distinguished from legless anguid lizards by the form of the tongue.

Distribution

There are a few species in Europe and South America, with a somewhat larger number in North America, but most skinks are distributed fairly evenly throughout Asia, Africa and especially Australia. Terrestrial and fossorial (burrowing) forms predominate, with arboreal and aquatic forms being much rarer.

Taxonomy

Taxonomically, the Scincidae have traditionally been divided into three subfamilies: the Scincinae, found mostly in the Old World except for Australia; the Acontiinae, from southern Africa, and the Lygosomatiinae, which is distributed worldwide and includes any skinks found in Australia or South America (Mattison). Some authorities formerly omitted the Acontiinae and added the Tiliquinae, a subfamily covering the large skinks such as Tiliqua and Egernia and also the probably extinct Macroscincus from Cape Verde: this has however shown to be erroneous. Other authorities recently added the subfamily Eumecinae, but this is still unconfirmed.

On February 26 2004 Dr Andreas Schmitz of the Department of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Natural History Museum of Geneva was kind enough to send me a list of the latest changes in the taxonomy of scincid lizards, as well as pointing out a couple of errors on my part. At the risk of doing an injustice to his comprehensive explanation, I will try to summarise the major changes as follows:

• Mabuya is broken up into four genera. Mabuya now applies only to the South American species of that genus. African and Malagasy Mabuya become Euprepis, Asian Mabuya become Eutropis, and those from the Cape Verde Islands become Chioninia.
• Novoeumeces was incorrectly named in 2000, since according to the ICZN rules on taxonomy classification, if a genus is split, then the group containing the type species must retain the original name.

Given the above, and bearing in mind the fluid state of scincid taxonomy, I have decided to add the new genera to the list below. The old names will be retained in the list, mainly because they often occur even in recent literature, but where they are synonyms for other genera, this will be clearly stated. We will also adjust the numbers of species in each genus accordingly, although this will take some time. This does not claim to be an infallible guide, but we do want to make sure that it is accurate as possible.

The following is a guide to the skink genera.

NAVIGATION: As this is a large page we have placed a couple of navigation links in each genus box. Click on "B" to go to the Bibliography, or "I" to go back up to the index (Quick Links).

Ablepharus, Ocellated Skinks	Acontias, Greater Legless Skinks	Acontophiops, Woodbush Legless Skink
Afroablepharus, Dwarf Skinks	Amphiglossus, Common\Water Skinks	Androngo, Greater Burrowing Skink
Anomalopus, Worm Skinks	Apterygodon, Borneo Skink	Asymblepharus, Lidless Skinks
Ateuchosaurus, Oriental Ateuchosaurus	Barkudia, Madras Spotted Skinks	Bartleia, Bartle Frere Cool Skink
Bassiana, Cool Skinks	Brachymeles, Short-Legged Skinks	Caledoniscincus , New Caledonian Skinks
Calyptotis, Calyptotis Skinks	Carlia, Rainbow Skinks	Cautula, Rainforest Cool Skink
Chabanaudia	Chalcides, Barrel Skinks	Chalcidoseps, Thwaite's Skink
Coeranoscincus, Snake-Toothed Skinks	Cophoscincopus, Keeled Water Skink	Corucia, Prehensile-Tailed/Monkey Skink
Cryptoblepharus, Shinning Skinks	Cryptoscincus, Secret Skink	Ctenotus, Ctenotus
Cyclodina, New Zealand Skinks	Cyclodomorphus, Oak Skinks	Dasia, Dasia Skinks
Davewakeum, Miriam's Skink	Egernia, Spiny Skinks	Emoia, Whiptail Skinks
Eremiascincus, Sand Swimmers	Eroticoscincus, Elf Skinks	Eugongylus, Sheen Skinks
Eulamprus, Five-Fingered Skinks	Eumeces, Five-Lined Skinks	Eumecia, Western Serpentiform Skinks
Euprepes, Serpentiform Skinks	Eurylepis, Elf Skinks	Evesia, Bell's Skink
Feylinia, Feylinias	Fojia, Fojii Skink	Geomyersia, Australian Island Skinks
Geoscincus, (Bar-Lipped) Skink	Glaphyromorphus, (Bar-Lipped) Skinks	Gnypetoscincus, Prickly Forest Skink
Gongylomorphus, Bojer Skinks	Gongylus, Thick-Tailed Skinks	Graciliscincus, Sadler's Skink
Haackgreerius, Haacke-Greer's Skink	Hemiergis, Earless Skinks	Hemisphaeriodon, Pink-Tongued Skink
Isopachys, Isopachys Skinks	Janetaescincus, Janet's Skinks	Lacertaspis, Lidless Skinks
Lacertoides	Lacertus, Eared Skinks	Lamprolepis, Emerald Skinks
Lampropholis, Sunskinks	Lankascincus, Tree Skinks	Leiolopisma, Ground Skinks
Leptoseps, Leptoseps	Leptosiaphos, Five-Toed Skinks	Lerista, Sliders
Lioscincus, New Caledonian Skinks	Lipinia, Lipinia Skinks	Lobulia, Lobulia Skinks
Lubuya, Lubuya Skinks	Lygisaurus, Litter Skinks	Lygosoma, Writhing Skinks
Mabuya, Typical Skinks	Macroscincus, Cape Verde Giant Skink	Marmorosphax, Marmorosphax Skinks
Melanoseps, Limbless Skinks	Menetia, Dwarf Skinks	Mesoscincus
Mochlus, Fire Skinks	Morethia, Morethia/Fire-Tailed Skinks	Nangura, Nangur Skink
Nannoscincus, Elf/Mulch Skinks	Neoseps, Sand Skink	Nessia, Nessia Skinks
Niveoscincus, Cool Skinks	Notoscincus, Soil-Crevice Skinks	Novoeumeces, Berber Skinks
Oligosoma, Common Skinks	Ophiomorus, Snake-Eyed Skinks	Ophioscincus, Snake Skinks
Pamelaescincus, Gardiner's Skink	Panaspis, Snake-Eyed Skinks	Papuascincus, Papuan Skinks
Parachalcides	Paracontias, Stone Skinks	Paralipinia
Parvoscincus, Diminutive Skinks	Phoboscincus, Garnier's Skinks	Prasinohaema, Green Tree Skinks
Proablepharus, Soil-Crevice Skinks	Proscelotes, Slender Skinks	Pseudoacontias, Giant Madagascar Skinks
Pseudemoia, Window-Eyed Skinks	Pygomeles, Short Skinks	Riopa
Ristella, Ristella Skinks	Saiphos, Three-Toed Skinks	Saproscincus, Shade/Litter Skinks
Scelotes, Dwarf Burrowing Skinks	Scincella, Smooth/Ground Skinks	Scincopus, Banded Skinks
Scincus, Sandfish	Scolecoseps, Limbless Skinks	Sepsina, Savannah Burrowing Skinks
Sigaloseps	Simiscincus	Sphenomorphus, Forest Skinks
Sphenops, Sandfish	Tachygia	Tiliqua, Blue-Tongued Skinks
Trachydosaurus, Pine-Cone Skinks	Tribolonotus, Helmet Skinks	Tropidophorus, Keeled Skinks
Tropidoscincus, New Caledonian Whip-Tailed Skinks	Typhlacontias, Western Burrowing Skinks	Typhlosaurus, Blind Legless Skinks
Voeltzkowia, Burrowing Blind Skinks

Genus	Common Name	No. of Species	Distribution	Notes
Ablepharus	Ocellated Skinks	5-7	SE Europe, W Russia, C Asia, Middle East	?. B I
Acontias	Greater Legless Skinks	8	S Africa	B I
Acontophiops	Woodbush Legless Skink	1	S Africa	B I
Afroablepharus	Dwarf Skinks	4	W & C Africa	B I
Amphiglossus	Common/Water Skinks	4	Madagascar and neighbouring islands	B I
Androngo	Greater Burrowing Skinks	4	Madagascar	Legless skinks. B I
Anomalopus	Worm Skinks	7	NE Australia (Queensland, NSW)	Small smooth-scaled skinks with reduced or absent limbs.   B I
Apterygodon	Borneo Skink	1	Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo	Variously considered a Dasia or Lygosoma species at times: see EMBL database entry for details. As at 2004, considered a synonym of Dasia. B I
Asymblepharus	Lidless Skinks	4	Central Asia, Indian subcontinent and Nepal	B I
Ateuchosaurus	Oriental Ateuchosaurus	2	China and Japan	?. B I
Barkudia	Madras Spotted Skinks	2	India	B I
Bartleia	Bartle Frere Cool Skink	1	NE Australia (Queensland, Cape York peninsula)	1 shortish species formerly found in Pseudemoia.  B I
Bassiana	Cool Skinks	3	S Australia	Species formerly considered members of Pseudemoia. B I
Brachymeles	Short-Legged Skinks	16	Mainly Philippines: also Malaysia	B I
Caledoniscincus	New Caledonian Skinks	11	New Caledonia	? B I
Calyptotis	Calyptotis Skinks	5	Australia (Queensland and NSW)	B I
Carlia	Rainbow Skinks	26	Mainly Australia (esp. Queensland): Papua New Guinea, Indonesia & islands	B I
Cautula	Rainforest Cool Skink	1	Australia (NSW and Queensland)	B I
Chabanaudia	?	1*	Gabon	Now considered a Feylinia species: see EMBL database entry. B I
Chalcides	Barrel Skinks	20	N Africa, Europe, W Asia	Cylindrical-shaped skinks with varying degrees of reduced limbs: C. ocellatus is a popular terrarium subject. B I
Chalcidoseps	Thwaite's Skink	1	Sri Lanka	Monotypic genus. B I
Chioninia	Cape Verde Skinks		Cape Verde islands	Species formerly considered to be part of the large Mabuya genus
Coeranoscincus	Snake-Toothed Skinks	2	Australia (NSW & Queensland)	B I
Cophoscincopus	Keeled Water Skinks	3	West Africa.	?. B I
Corucia	Prehensile-Tailed/Monkey-Tailed/Solomon Islands Skink	1	Solomon Islands	B I
Cryptoblepharus	Shinning Skinks	29	Indo-Pacific region, as far west as S Africa	Small skinks with well-developed limbs.  B I
Cryptoscincus	Secret Skink	1	Madagascar	?. B I
Ctenotus	Ctenotus	93	Australia	?. B I
Cyclodina	New Zealand Skinks	4	Mainly New Zealand, one species from Australia	C. lichenigera is found in New South Wales and on Lord Howe and Norfolk islands. B I
Cyclodomorphus	Oak Skinks/ Bluetongues [NB not to be confused with the Blue-Tongue Skinks of the Tiliqua genus]	3	Australia (inc. Tasmania)	Somewhat smaller than the Tiliqua "Blue-Tongued" Skinks but similar in form and build. B I
Dasia	Dasia Skinks	8	India and SE Asia	?. B I
Davewakeum	Miriam's Skink	1	Thailand	B I
Egernia	Spiny Skinks	29	Australia	A genus of mainly "spiky" skinks with well-developed limbs and true viviparous reproduction. Some have become popular terrarium subjects. B I
Emoia	Whiptail Skinks, Mangrove Skinks	74	S Pacific, inc. Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Solomon Islands, Australia	A very successful Indo-Pacific genus. Mattison notes that their predilection for shoreline or mangrove forest habitats has undoubtedly aided their distribution. These are unusual skinks in several ways: they have long limbs, many are arboreal or semi-arboreal, and of these treedwelling species, many are green with some having brightly coloured tails, often blue (Mattison). B I
Eremiascincus	Sand Swimmers	2	Australia	B I
Eroticoscincus	Elf Skink	2	SE Queensland, Australia	B I
Eugongylus	Sheen Skinks	5	Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Pacific Islands	?. B I
Eulamprus	Five-Fingered Skinks	15	Australia	B I
Eumeces	Five-Lined Skinks	38-40	SE Europe, Asia Minor and south as far as E Asia	These lizards have also been seen in the pet trade on a fairly regular basis, usually either in the form of North American Five-Lined Skinks or that of the Berber Skink, Eumeces schneideri (now reclassified by some as Novoeumeces). B I
Eumecia	Western Serpentiform Skinks	2	Sub-Saharan Africa	?. B I
Euprepes	Serpentiform Skinks	2	W Africa	Considered a synonym of Euprepis. B I
Euprepis			Africa and Madagascar	Contains those African lizards formerly considered part of the large Mabuya genus (see Taxonomy).
Eurylepis	Elf Skinks	3	Middle East, C Asia and esp. Indian subcontinent	Genus of 3 skinks of which 2 were formerly considered to be part of Eumeces: not universally accepted.  B I
Eutropis			Asia	Contains those Asian lizards formerly considered part of the large Mabuya genus (see Taxonomy).
Evesia	Bell's Skink	1	Sri Lanka	Status unclear: see EMBL database entry.  B I
Feylinia	Feylinids/Limbless Skinks	5	Africa (not south)	Legless lizards considered a separate family by some.  B I
Fojia	Fojii Skink	1	New Guinea	B I
Geomyersia	Australian Island Skinks	2	S Pacific	?. B I
Geoscincus	(Bar-Lipped) Skink	1	New Caledonia	Formerly considered a Eugongylus species.  B I
Glaphyromorphus	(Bar-Lipped) Skinks, Pygmy Tree Skinks	16	Australia, Indonesia	B I
Gnypetoscincus	Prickly Forest Skink	1	Australia (Queensland)	B I
Gongylomorphus	Bojer's Skink	1	Mauritius, possibly neighbouring islands	B I
Gongylus	Thick-Tailed Skinks	3	Australia	B I
Graciliscincus	Sadler's Skink	1	New Caledonia	? B I
Haackgreerius	Haacke-Greer's Skink	1	Somalia	Formerly considered a Lygosoma species. B I
Hakaria		1	Socotra Island
Hemiergis	Earless Skinks	5	Australia	B I
Hemisphaeriodon	Pink-Tongued Skink	1	Australia	Not quite as popular as the closely related Tiliqua species (Blue-Tongued Skinks) but still does well in captivity, with a marked preference for snails and other land molluscs.  B I
Isopachys	Isopachys Skinks	4	Thailand and Burma	B I
Janetaescincus	Janet's Skinks	2	Seychelles	Formerly considered Amphiglossus species.  B I
Lacertaspis	Lidless Skinks	2	Equatorial Africa	Obscure skink: even the EMBL listing for this species contains no information. The only information I have been able to find on the Internet is at http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/mhng/page/erpiamre.htm B I
Lacertoides	?	1	New Caledonia	A rather unusual and difficult to classify skink: see EMBL database entry.  B I
Lacertus	Eared Skinks	2	Somalia	B I
Lamprolepis	Emerald Skinks?	4	Indonesia	At least two of these species are sometimes assigned to the Dasia genus instead.  B I
Lampropholis	Sunskinks	11	Australia	One species has been introduced in New Zealand and Hawaii. B I
Lankascincus	Tree Skinks	6	Sri Lanka	B I
Leiolopisima	Ground Skinks	9	Fiji, Indian Ocean, Australia (see text)	The nine species of this genus seem to be either extinct or possibly synonymous with different creatures. See the EMBL database for more details. Originally this genus was much larger, comprising species (especially New Zealand skinks, now Cyclodina and Oligosoma ) which are now placed in their own genera. As such it was believed to be a link between the lizards of Australia and New Zealand (Mattison). B I
Leptoseps	?	2	Thailand, Vietnam	At least one of the species in this genus is possibly synonymous with a Sphenomorphus species: see EMBL database entry. B I
Leptosiaphos	Five-Toed Skinks	18	Africa	B I
Lerista	Sliders	84	Australia	This extremely large genus shows varying degrees of limb reduction from well-developed fore- and hind limbs through to just hind legs and finally complete limblessness. These are all burrowing skinks: most are brown, often with dark longitudinal lines or dark flanks (Mattison). All are insectivorous and some are associated with termite nests. B I
Lioscincus	New Caledonian Skinks	6	New Caledonia	B I
Lipinia	Lipinia Skinks	21	Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other Indian and Pacific oceanic islands	One species, L. noctua, is particularly widespread throughout the Pacific. B I
Lobulia	Lobulia Skinks	2	New Guinea	B I
Lubuya	Ivens' Skinks	2	Somalia	Now considered a synonym of Euprepis.  B I
Lygisaurus	Litter Skinks	9	New Guinea (?), mainly Australia	B I
Lygosoma	Writhing Skinks	38	Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian subcontinent	B I
Mabuya	Typical Skinks	90	Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian subcontinent, SE Asia, Indo-Pacific, S America and Caribbean	Very large and cosmopolitan genus that has however recently been broken up into four families. Under the new organisation, only those species distributed in South America are still considered Mabuya: the others are reassigned to Chioninia, Euprepis and Eutropis.  B I
Macroscincus	Cape Verde Giant Skink	1	Cape Verde Islands	Possibly extinct.  B I
Marmorosophax	?	2	New Caledonia	B I
Melanoseps	Limbless Skinks	4	Africa	Limbless skinks.  B I
Menetia	Dwarf Skinks	9	Australia	B I
Mesoscincus	?	3	Central America	Three species formerly included in the Eumeces genus. B I
Mochlus	Fire Skinks	4	Sub-Saharan Africa	B I
Morethia	Morethia/Fire-Tailed Skinks	8	Australia	B I
Nangura	Nangur Skink	1	Queensland, Australia	B I
Nannoscincus	Elf/Mulch Skinks	6	Mainly New Caledonia, one in Australia	B I
Neoseps	Sand Skink	1	Florida, USA	Considered a synonym of Eumeces by some authorities.  B I
Nessia	Nessia Skinks	8	Sri Lanka	B I
Niveoscincus	Cool-Skinks	8	Mainly Tasmania, Australia: one also on W Pacific islands	Small skinks with typical shiny scales and well-developed limbs. B I
Notoscincus	Soil-Crevice Skinks	2	Australia	Small skinks with pentadactyl limbs and small ear openings. Not much known about their ecology, etc.  B I
Novoeumeces	Berber Skinks	3	N Africa through Middle East and C Asia to India	This small genus includes the Berber Skink, more usually known scientifically as Eumeces schneideri. These are medium-sized (up to 12") and attractive skinks.  B I
Oligosoma	Common (New Zealand) Skinks	23	New Zealand	This genus was formally reinstated by Patterson and Daugherty in 1995 (see Royal Society of New Zealand). Only one is egg-laying. B I
Ophiomorus	Snake-Eyed Skinks?	10	Mainly Middle East and Central Asia: also India and Greece	B I
Ophioscincus	Snake Skinks	3	Australia	B I
Pamelaescincus	Gardiner's Skink	1	Seychelles	Formerly considered a member of Amphiglossus or Scelotes.  B I
Panaspis	Snake-Eyed Skinks	17-30	Sub-Saharan Africa	Terrestrial and fossorial species. B I
Papuascincus	Papua Skinks	4	New Guinea, Irian Jaya (Indonesia)	B I
Parachalcides	?	1	Arabia	Considered a synonym of Hakaria.  B I
Paracontias	Stone Skinks	5	Madagascar	B I
Paralipinia	?	1	Vietnam	See EMBL database entry for details of this skink.  B I
Parvoscincus	Diminutive Skinks	2	Philippines	B I
Phoboscincus	Garnier's Skinks	2	New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands	B I
Prasinohaema	Green Tree Skink	5	Mainly New Guinea, also Solomon Islands	The name of this genus is derived from the green blood of its species. This green colour is actually caused by a pigment, but the reason for this is as yet unknown.  B I
Proablepharus	Soil-Crevice Skinks	3	Australia	B I
Proscelotes	Slender Skinks	3-4	S & E Africa	B I
Pseudoacontias	Giant Madagascar Skinks	2	Madagascar	B I
Pseudemoia	Window-Eyed Skinks	6	Australia, Indonesia	B I
Pygomeles	Short Skinks	2	Madagascar	Legless skinks. B I
Riopa	?	3	SE Asia	B I
Ristella	Ristella Skinks	4	India	B I
Saiphos	Three-Toed Skink	1	Australia (NSW and Queensland)	B I
Saproscincus	Shade Skinks/ Litter Skinks	9	Australia (NSW and Queensland)	B I
Scelotes	Dwarf Burrowing Skinks	20-23	Mainly S Africa, one in Tanzania	B I
Scincella	Smooth Skinks /Ground Skinks	24	Mainly Indian subcontinent, China and SE Asia, but also N America and Mexico	B I
Scincopus	Banded Skink	1	North Africa and Sahara	B I
Scincus	Sandfish	3	N Africa, Sahara, C Africa, Arabia, Middle East, C Asia and Pakistan	Burrowing skinks with four limbs but shovel-like snout. B I
Scolecoseps	Limbless Skinks?	3	Tanzania and Mozambique	B I
Sepsina	Savannah Burrowing Skinks	4-5	Sub-Saharan Africa	B I
Sigaloseps	?	2	New Caledonia	B I
Simiscincus	?	1	New Caledonia	The taxonomic relationship of this species is problematic: see the EMBL database entry. B I
Sirenoscincus				No data yet available.
Sphenomorphus	Forest Skinks	104	SE Asia, Indonesia, Pacific and Australia	B I
Sphenops	Sandfish	3	N & C Africa, Sahara, Israel	Burrowers in a similar manner to Scincus but more cylindrical and with the limbs greatly reduced, especially the forelimbs.  B I
Tachygia	?	1	Tonga	Probably extinct: see EMBL database entry. B I
Tiliqua	Blue-Tongued Skinks	7	Australia, New Guinea	Popular terrarium subjects, these are large skinks with no limb reduction and somewhat cylindrical bodies. All are viviparous. The genus now includes what was formerly Trachydosaurus. B I
Trachydosaurus	Pine Cone Skinks	1*	Australia	Trachydosaurus is now definitely considered a synonym of Tiliqua, but is found in recent works. An eagerly-sought but hard-to-acquire terrarium subject. The tail is of a similar shape and size to the head, probably being a defensive distraction. Some still consider this a member of the Tiliqua genus. B I
Tribolonotus	Helmet Skinks	8	Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and neighbouring islands.	These are rather atypical-looking skinks, having heavily keeled and spiny scales. Their preferred habitat seems to be streams; running water in any captive situation appears to be highly beneficial if not mandatory. All lay a single egg per clutch apart from T. schmidtii, which gives birth to a single young. B I
Tropidophorus	Keeled Skinks	20	Mainly SE Asia, also China and Indonesia	Similar in form to the Tribolonotus genus.  B I
Tropidoscincus	New Caledonian Whiptailed Skinks?	3	New Caledonia	A recently described genus.  B I
Typhlacontias	Western Burrowing Skinks	7	S Africa	B I
Typhlosaurus	Blind Legless Skinks	2	S Africa	Very fossorial genus.  B I
Vietnascincus				No data yet available.
Voeltzkowia	Burrowing Blind Skinks	5	Madagascar	B I

Bibliography - Skinks

There seems to be no one single work (at least outside academic circles) dealing with the family Scincidae in its entirety, the nearest popular treatment being Walls' Skinks (see below). Skinks are mentioned in most books dealing with lizards as a whole, but even then usually concentrate (understandably) on that relative handful which are kept on a regular basis in captivity. It is to be hoped that a larger book similar to TFH's Agamid Lizards or Iguanid Lizards will soon appear.

Skinks, Jerry G Walls, TFH 1996. This is a good basic introduction to the family, written from a keeper's point of view and dealing with the better known or more unusual species continent by continent. Walls is a good writer on most herpetocultural and other animal subjects, and this is a good place to start.

The German site Repti-Box has a very useful summary table of information about a few of the species of skink contained in these pages. Although in German, the actual care details such as temperature ranges and humidity are fairly easy to pick up.

Animal Life Encyclopedia Volume 6: Reptiles, Grzimek,1975 provided an overview of the general characteristics of skinks and of some of the lesser-known families.

Index of Skink-related articles from herpetological magazines.

Bibliography: specific genera

Tiliqua, Blue-Tongued Skinks

Blue-Tongued Skinks: Keeping and Breeding Them in Captivity, Jerry G Walls, TFH 1996. Walls writes well on most herpetological and invertebrate subjects, and this brief book is no exception, covering the taxonomy and requirements not only of the Tiliqua species but also of Cyclodomorphus (Oak Skinks), Hemisphaeriodon (Pink-Tongued Skink) and Trachydosaurus (Pine Cone Skink).

Corucia, Monkey/Prehensile-Tailed Skinks

General Care and Maintenance of Prehensile-Tailed Skinks, Philippe de Vosjoli, Herpetocultural Library. A very handy book covering the necessary requirements for these lizards. TFH have also produced a book by John Coborn covering these unique skinks.

Links

www.kingsnake.com has a list of Australian skinks with links to information and photographs.

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