Mochlus is a genus of , lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is Endemism to Africa.
Description
Skinks of the genus
Mochlus are cylindrical in shape and robust. They get the common name "writhing skinks" from the side-to-side movement that they make when held in the hand.
Diet
Skinks in the genus
Mochlus feed on insects and millipedes.
[Alexander, Graham; Marais, Johan (2008). A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers. 408 pp. . ("Writhing Skinks", pp. 247-248).]
Species
The following 19
species are recognized as being valid.
[. www.reptile-database.org.]
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Mochlus brevicaudis
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Mochlus fernandi – fire skink
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Mochlus grandisonianus – Lanza's writhing skink
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Mochlus guineensis – Guinean forest skink
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Mochlus hinkeli – Harald Hinkel red-sided skink, Hinkel's red-flanked skink
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Mochlus laeviceps (W. Peters, 1874) – common writhing skink
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Mochlus lanceolatus Broadley, 1990 – Broadley's writhing skink
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Mochlus mabuiiformis – Mabuya-like writhing skink
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Mochlus mafianus – mafia writhing skink
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Mochlus mocquardi – Mocquard's writhing skink
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ( Lygosoma mocquardi, p. 181).]
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Mochlus paedocarinatus – Lanza's writhing skink, Abyssinian writhing skink
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Mochlus pembanus Oskar Boettger, 1913 – Pemba Island writhing skink
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Mochlus productus – Boulenger's writhing skink
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Mochlus simonettai – Simonetta's writhing skink
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Mochlus somalicus – Somalia writhing skink
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Mochlus striatus
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Mochlus sundevallii – Sundevall's writhing skink
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Mochlus tanae – Loveridge's writhing skink, Tana River writhing skink
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Mochlus vinciguerrae – Vinciguerra's writhing skink
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Mochlus.
Further reading
Günther A (1864). "Report on a Collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by Dr. Kirk in the Zambesi and Nyassa Regions".
Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864: 303–314. (
Mochlus, new genus, p. 308).
