Four-lined Skink

Taxobox
name = Four-lined Skink

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image_width = 200px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
familia = Scincidae
genus = "Eumeces"
species = "E. tetragrammus"
binomial = "Eumeces tetragrammus"
binomial_authority = Baird, 1859__NOTOC__The Four-lined Skink ("Eumeces tetragrammus") is a medium-sized member of the "Eumeces" skinks, a kind of lizard.

Taxonomy

There are several subspecies:
* Long-lined Skink ("E.t. tetragrammus" Baird 1859)
* Short-lined Skink ("E.t. brevilineatus" Cope 1880)

Some herpetologists also consider the Mountain Skink ("Eumeces callicephalus") a subspecies of the "Eumeces tetragrammus" under the name "E.t. callicephalus". Others, however, prefer to treat the Mountain Skink as a distinct species because its range is geographically distinct and there are morphological differences.

Description

The two suspecies can be distinguished by their color and their stripes. The Long-lined Skink is gray to light brown in color and has light stripes from the eyes extending to beyond its forelegs, whereas the Short-lined Skink is darker in color and has stripes that end before the forelegs.

Juveniles of both subspecies have — like many "Eumeces" — a blue tail; this color fades with age.

Adults reach a maximum SVL (Snout-Vent-Length) of some 7.5 cm (about 3 inches), and a TL (total length) of about 18 cm (7 in).

Range and Habitat

"Eumeces tetragrammus" occurs in northern Mexico and along the Mexican Gulf coast and in western and central Texas.

Both subspecies live in lightly wooded areas, with the Short-lined Skink having a preference for rocky areas, whereas the Long-lined Skink is also found in grasslands.

Reproduction

The female lays about 5 to 12 eggs once a year, which she broods. Males develop orange (Short-Lined Skink) to red (Long-lined Skink) coloration of the head during the breeding season.

External links

* [http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/lizards/eumeces.tetragrammus.html Eumeces tetragrammus]
* [http://nasa.utep.edu/chih/theland/animals/reptiles/eumetetra.htm Info on the range] (Note: the western range separated from the rest is actually the range of "Eumeces callicephalus".)