Scincus is a genus of , 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.]
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!Image
!Species
!Common Name |
| | Scincus albifasciatus
| White-banded sandfish |
| | Scincus conirostris
| Iranian sandfish |
| | Scincus hemprichii
| Hemprich's sandfish |
| | Scincus mitranus
| Eastern sandfish |
| | Scincus scincus
| Common sandfish |
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than
Scincus.
Further reading
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(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. (HTML abstract).
