Added 26 February 2014.

The Scincidae

Ateuchosaurus



Introduction

Smallish skinks from Japan and China.

Hallowell (1861) gives the characteristics of the genus as follows: nostril in a single plate; no supranasal; no naso-frenal; two frontonasals; interparieto-frontoparietal; two parietals; a first and second frenal; two freno-orbitals; 6 supralabials; body covered with hexagonal scales, those on the back being tricarinate; fingers and toes 5-5, of which outermost and innermost are quite short; tail cyclo-tetragonal at base, longer than snout-vent length. In addition the claws are retractile.

Stejneger drew attention to the fact that the genus seemed to have no affinities with the surrounding Himalayo-Chinese fauna, and suggested it seemed rather to recall southern Indian forms.

 

QUICK INDEX

 

A. chinensis, Chinese Forest Skink 

A. pellopleurus 

 

Scientific Name

Common Name

Distribution

Size

Notes

Ateuchosaurus

A. chinensis

Chinese Forest Skink

China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hong Kong), Vietnam

Avg SVL 6-10 cm, TL approx 20cm

A forest species, living in leaf litter and secretive. Scalation details: nostril pierced in the nasal; no supranasal; 3 (Boulenger states 4) large supraoculars; 3rd supraocular in contact with parietals; frontonasal broader than long, forming suture with rostral and a broader one with the frontal; frontal longer than frontoparietals and interparietal together; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct; parietals larger than frontonasal; 3 supralabials before subocular; 9 supraciliaries; lower eyelid scaly. Dorsal scalation: finely striated and bicarinate, in 28 rows at midbody; preanals not enlarged. Other: snout short, obtuse; adpressed limbs meet; subdigital lamellae smooth, 17 under 4th toe. Coloration: reddish-brown or greyish-brown; dark lateral stripe runs from behind eye to short distance behind forelimbs; laterally spotted with black and white spots which extend on to the tail; ventrally whitish; underside of head and throat may be pinkish. Reproduction: oviparous. [SOURCES: Boulenger, Karsen et al]

A. pellopleurus

Ryukyu Black-Sided Skink

 

 

Japan (Ryukyu Archipelago inc. Okinawa)

 

 

TL, 9cm SVL 4cm

 

 

Ota et al rejected the division of this species into subspecies, but the Reptile Database has retained this classification. Scalation details: rostral very broadly in contact with frontonasal; no supranasals; nostril in a single nasal; no postnasal; frontonasal broader than long, broadly in contact with frontal; prefrontals very small, smaller than posterior supraocular and interparietal, widely separated; frontal may be divided or undivided, very long, twice as long as distance from tip of snout, in contact with 1st and 2nd supraoculars and behind with interparietal; 4 supraoculars, of which 1st largest; frontoparietals not in contact with each other, about as large as 3rd supraocular; interparietal about as wide as long, slightly larger than frontoparietals, in contact with posterior frontal; parietals very short, not larger than frontonasal, usually in contact behind interparietal; no nuchals; loreals small, narrow, lower edge coextensive with upper edge of 2nd supralabial; lower eyelid scaly; 6 supralabials, of which 5th longest; large subocular between 4th and 5th supralabial, lower angle nearly reaching the lip; temporals small, scale-like; single narrow, quadrangular shield behind mental; submandibulars small, scarcely differentiated; preanal scales not enlarged. Dorsal scalation: 26 (sometimes 24 or 28) rows around midbody, scales of nearly equal size, dorsally strongly tricarinate, medially bicarinate. Other: ear-opening rather large, horizontally oval, without projecting lobules; legs short; digits very short, especially the first, covered above with imbricate alternating scales, one on each side of the median line and terminating above in a large nail-shaped scale under which the claw can be retracted. Tail: cylindrical, tapering; caudal scales dorsally keeled with 4, decreasing rearwards to 2, keels, no transversely enlarged plates underneath. Coloration: pale brown above, with 4 longitudinal rows of minute black spots; dark brown band from nostril through eye, high above ear-opening and running dorsolaterally, disappearing on sides of tail; top of head irregularly spotted with dark brown, with larger spots of similar colour on supra- and infralabials; lower surfaces whitish. Reproduction: 2-6 eggs per clutch. [SOURCES: Barbour, Boulenger, Hallowell, Stejneger]

A. p. pellopleurus

A. p. browni

Bibliography

"Herpetological Novelties from China", Leonhard Stejneger, Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol 5, July 21 1924.

Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles, Stephen J Karsen, Michael Wai-Neng Lau, Anthony Bogadek, Urban Council, Hong Kong 1986. Useful little guide to the herpetology of the area.

“Geographic Variation in the Endemic Skink, Ateuchosaurus pellopleurus from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan”, Hidetoshi Ota, Haruki Miyaguni and Tsutomu Hikida, Journal of Herpetology, Vol 33 No 1, March 1999 (read in the abstract summary).

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