Eumeces schneideri

Berberskink ( Eumeces schneideri )

The Berberskink ( Eumeces schneideri ( Syn: Novoeumeces schneideri ) ), also called Schneider's Skink is a lizard that is spread from North West Africa to North West India. It was named after the German naturalist Johann Gottlob Schneider Theaenus.

Dissemination

The range extends from Algeria through Tunisia, Libya and Egypt to Anatolia, Saudi Arabia, Daghestan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and north-western India. Also on Cyprus comes before the Berberskink.

Features

The Berberskink achieved depending on the subspecies has a total length 32-47 cm. Its body is cylindrical, the legs are short and stocky. The basic color of the lizards is brownish, the sides are rather yellowish, the abdomen yellowish or off-white. On the back side and the flanks of Lizards are found arranged irregularly or in rows orange red spots or yellow, black edged scales. The ear openings can be closed during the rooting in the ground.

Way of life

The Berberskink occurs in semi-deserts and in dry cultivated land. It is diurnal and hides in the night under stones and bushes. As a food serve insects, spiders, snails and plant parts.

During the mating season they are territorial and aggressive towards each other. Females are pursued by males and their readiness to mate by licking in the cloacal area tested. Five to six weeks after mating, the female lays three to twenty eggs in a damp place. The Jungskinke hatch after 8-9 weeks. They are different from the adult Berberskinken, gray brown to olive-gray and have 8 to 10 longitudinal rows of white spots. The orange stripes on the sides of the body is missing.

Subspecies

  • Eumeces schneideri aldrovandii ( Duméril & Bibron 1839)
  • Eumeces schneideri barani Kumlutas, Arikan, Ilgaz & Kaska 2007; Anatolia
  • Eumeces schneideri pavimentatus ( Saint- Hilaire 1827); Syria, Lebanon, Jordan
  • Eumeces schneideri princeps Eichwald, 1839; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caucasus
  • Eumeces schneideri schneideri ( Daudin 1802)
  • Eumeces schneideri zarudnyi ( Nikolsky 1900)

Pictures of Eumeces schneideri

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