Spotted roller skink
| Spotted roller skink | ||||||||||||
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Spotted roller skink ( Chalcides ocellatus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chalcides ocellatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Forsskål , 1775) |
The spotted skink ( Chalcides ocellatus ) is a reptile art from the family of skinks . Like most skinks, it is a strongly built, smooth, scaly lizard with an elongated body and a pointed head; The trunk and head are not separated from each other. Spotted roller skinks grow up to 30 cm long, most Greek specimens remain significantly smaller. The upper side is colored from light yellow to yellow to brown, sometimes with a greenish tinge. More or less regularly arranged, black and white spots each take up the area of a scale and are sometimes arranged as transverse bands.
The species lives in southern Europe in southern Italy and in Greece from the Peloponnese to the island of Euboea , as well as on the islands of Sardinia , Sicily , Crete , islands from Rhodes to Chios , Malta and other islands in the Mediterranean . Further south, the distribution area extends from North Africa and the Middle East via Turkey to Pakistan . Spotted roller skinks often inhabit coastal areas such as dune landscapes, as well as mountainous areas, light scrubland and cork oak forests . The Fleckte Walzenskink is also a cultural successor , which also inhabits vineyards, olive groves, leg stone walls and ruins. Some specimens use garbage collections as habitat.
The diurnal lizards are very shy of humans and quite fast. Meandering movements for locomotion in loose sand have also been described, similar to the Apothekerskink ( Scincus scincus ). Spotted roller skinks feed mainly on various arthropods , more rarely also smaller types of lizards and sweet fruits. Occasionally cannibalism occurs.
In cooler areas, spotted roller skins hibernate for about three months , followed by the breeding season. Spotted roller skinks are ovoviviparous and the females give birth to 2 to 20, mostly 4–8, live young animals after three months of gestation.
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- ↑ a b c d e M. Rogner: Echsen 2. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8001-7253-4 .
- ↑ a b c H. Rösler, W. Wranik: Comments on the ecology and reproduction of Chalcides ocellata (Forskål, 1775). In: elaphe. 17 (3), 2009, p. 42f.
