Pointed head skink

Pointed head skink
	Pointed head skink ( Eumeces obsoletus )
Systematics
Order :	Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank:	Scincomorpha (Scincoidea)
Family :	Skinks (Scincidae)
Subfamily :	Scincinae
Genre :	Eumeces
Type :	Pointed head skink
Scientific name
	Eumeces obsoletus
	( Baird & Girard , 1852)

The pointed head skink ( Eumeces obsoletus , syn .: Plestiodon obsoletus ) is one of the largest skink cards on the North American continent. The assignment to the genus Eumeces is controversial.

features

It grows up to 35 cm long, but usually remains much smaller. The body is elongated, the head short and pointed. The animals are light gray on the back and sides, the scales are bordered in black and form stripes on the back. The belly is pale white and unspotted. The scales on the sides slope towards the back scales. They form short longitudinal strips that connect to the back strips. There are also single-color copies. Young pointed head skinks are black with a blue tail.

distribution

Distribution area

The Great Plains Skink comes in the area of the Great Plains in Colorado , Arizona , New Mexico , Texas , in the southwestern Iowa , in southeastern Wyoming and in Mexico before. It prefers open grassland made up of rocks and can be found at heights of up to 2000 meters.

Way of life

Pointed head skinks are diurnal and live very hidden. They eat insects, their larvae and eggs. The animals usually end their hibernation at the end of March. Mating takes place in April or May. A few weeks later, the female lays 7 to 21, about 16 × 11 mm eggs under stones or in another hiding place. It guards and turns the eggs, digs them deeper in dry conditions or wets them with urine. The newly hatched, about 7 cm long young animals are defended against enemies in the first days of life.

literature

Manfred Rogner: Lizards. Volume 2, Ulmer Verlag, ISBN 3-8001-7253-4 .

Individual evidence

^ Schmitz, Andreas, Patrick Mausfeld, Dirk Embert: Molecular studies on the genus Eumeces Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications. In: Hamadryad. 28 (1-2), 2004, pp. 73-89 ( PDF; 362 kB) .

Web links

Commons : Spitzkopfskink ( Eumeces obsoletus ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Plestiodon obsoletus inthe IUCN Red List of Endangered Species 2013.1. Posted by: Hammerson, GA, Frost, DR & Santos-Barrera, G, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
Plestiodon obsoletus in The Reptile Database

[1] Schmitz, Andreas, Patrick Mausfeld, Dirk Embert: Molecular studies on the genus Eumeces Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications. In: Hamadryad. 28 (1-2), 2004, pp. 73-89 ( PDF; 362 kB) .