Added 20 February 2005. Last updated 28 December 2009: updated details for O. raithmai and Bibliography.
The Scincidae
Ophiomorus
Introduction
The genus Ophiomorus is distributed in mainland Greece and SW Asia. It consists of essentially two groups of skinks: the smaller western group, which have greatly reduced limbs and live beneath rocks, and the larger eastern, whose members are found mainly among sand dunes.
Other characteristics of the genus are: palatine bones do not meet on midline of palate; pterygoid teeth usually present; teeth conical or with obtuse crowns; eye small, lower eyelid having undivided transparent disc; ear opening absent or hidden; nostril in suture between nasal and supranasal, close to rostral; prefrontals usually distinct; frontoparietal and parietal distinct. Sexual dimorphism is exhibited in the dorsal scalation, the number of scales being higher in females than in males of the same species. The genus is oviparous.
Anderson and Leviton divided the genus into two adaptive trends. O. persicus, punctatissimus and latastii have very elongated cylindrical bodies and blunt conical snouts, darkly pigmented peritoneum and mesenteries, and limbs that are either greatly reduced (as in persicus) or wholly absent (as in the other two). These would seem to be adaptations to their way of life, ie living under rocks and probably burrowing in loose soil. The remaining species are found in loose, windblown dune sand and "swim" beneath the surface in a similar manner to other "sandfish" such as Scincus. Accordingly they have wedge-shaped snouts, elongate bodies and very smooth imbricate scales, a prominent ventrolateral edge to the body from snout to groin, and small grooves to accommodate the forelimbs when in motion below the surface. The peritoneum and mesenteries lack dark pigmentation, and the mouth appears at least in one species to be countersunk in a similar manner to Scincus. Anderson and Leviton named Chalcides, Eumeces and Scincus as the closest relatives of Ophiomorus and suggested a common ancestor. They also proposed Zygnopsis as a genus or subgenus for the dune-dwelling species, but this idea was not taken up.
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QUICK INDEX |
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| O. blanfordi, Blanford's Snake Skink |
O. brevipes, Short-Legged Snake Skink |
O. chernovi, Chernov's Snake Skink |
| O. latastii, Latast's Snake Skink |
O. nuchalis, Nilson's Snake Skink |
O. persicus, Persian Snake Skink |
| O. punctatissimus, Greek Snake Skink |
O. raithmai, Indian Sandfish |
O. streeti, Street's Snake Skink |
| O. tridactylus, Three-Toed Snake Skink |
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| Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
| Ophiomorus |
| O. blanfordi |
Blanford's Snake Skink |
Pakistan |
Max 96mm SVL |
Found in the coastal sand dunes. Scalation details: interparietal as long as broad; frontonasal not twice as long as broad. Dorsal scalation: 20 scale rows at midbody, 96-103 transverse rows. Other: snout cuneiform with angular labial edge; 4 fingers, 3 toes. Coloration: overall cream or pale brown in preservative; the two median dorsal rows have scattered dark spots which form more or less distinct longitudinal lines; the scale rows either side of these lack dark marking, but the next 2 lateral rows thereafter each have a dark marking on each scale, and these form distinct lateral stripes that extend forward along the sides of the head. There may be a dark central streak on top of the head. |
| O. brevipes |
Short-Legged Snake Skink |
SE Iran, Afghanistan, poss. Pakistan |
Max 91mm SVL |
Found in sandy regions. Scalation details: interparietal broader than long; frontonasal approximately twice as broad as long. preocular and loreal form vertical suture with each other. Dorsal scalation: 22 scale rows at midbody, 106-114 transverse rows Other: snout cuneiform with slight labial edge; 4 fingers, 3 toes. Coloration: overall cream or pale brown in preservative; each scale of the two median dorsal rows has a brown centre spot, these spots thus forming two lines the length of body and tail; the scale rows either side of these lack dark marking (though the scale row may have a few scattered dark spots), but the next 3 lateral rows thereafter each have a dark marking on each scale, and these form either 3 distinct lateral stripes or a single wide stripe the length of body and tail. Ventrally white. Dark line from nostril through eye and temporal region contacts the lateral body stripes. Single line on frontonasal and frontal divides on posterior part of frontal and reunites on the posterior part of the interparietal. |
| O. chernovi |
Chernov's Snake Skink |
S Turkmenistan, NE Iran |
Max 95mm SVL |
Scalation details: interparietal broader than long. Dorsal scalation: 24 scale rows at midbody, 109-118 transverse rows. Other: snout cuneiform with slight labial edge; 4 fingers, 3 toes. Coloration: as for O. brevipes. |
| O. latastii |
Lastast's Snake Skink |
Israel, Jordan and Lebanon |
Max 102mm SVL |
Limbless species. Scalation details: rostral projects beyond lip; no prefrontals present; supranasals narrowly in contact, partially separated anteriorly by apex of rostral; frontonasal much more than half as long as the frontal. Dorsal scalation: 16 scale rows at posterior third of body [see Anderson and Leviton for an explanation of the scale counts in this area], 117-122 transverse rows. Other: snout acutely conical with slight labial edge. Coloration: (in preservative) dorsally cream; each scale of body and tail has dark brown spot, these together forming longitudinal dorsal and lateral lines along body and tail; 2 much broader stripes on each side, narrowly separated; lines of brown dots on all ventral surfaces; scattered brown dots on lips and top of head. |
| O. nuchalis |
Nilson's Snake Skink |
Iran |
6" |
Species first described in 1978: no other data yet available. |
| O. persicus |
Persian Snake Skink |
SW Iran |
Max 82mm SVL |
Found on the western slopes of the Zagros mountains. Limbs greatly reduced. Anderson and Leviton consider this species to occupy a midpoint between the western group and the eastern group, since it closely resembles O. punctatissimus in form and coloration pattern but lacks any external ear opening, has a blunter snout and does have reduced limbs as opposed to the limblessness of O. punctatissimus or the limbs of the eastern species. Scalation details: small prefrontals present; frontonasal half, or less than half as long as the frontal. Dorsal scalation: 20 scale rows at posterior third of body [see Anderson and Leviton for an explanation of the scale counts in this area], 112-124 transverse rows. Other: snout obtuse and rounded; 3 fingers, 2 toes. Coloration: (in preservative) dorsally cream or light brown; each dorsal and lateral scale has a brown spot, these spots together forming longitudinal lines along the body, distinctly on the sides but much paler on the 4 median dorsal scale rows. All caudal scales also have a dark spot but these are not confluent. Brown line from nostril through eye onto temporal region; upper surface of head mottled with brown; ventrally cream or tan, the 4 ventral scale rows lacking dark spots. |
| O. punctatissimus |
Greek Legless Skink, Greek Snake Skink |
S Greece, Kythera, SW Turkey |
Max 77mm SVL |
A limbless species, rather secretive. It is often found in spring on loamy slopes covered with grass or other low vegetation and scattered stones, preferring those stones which are half submerged in the soil. According to Engelmann et al, these habitats are normally the flat part of warm and dry valley locations, the highest altitude of any individual found being 600m. In the summer they seem to disappear, possibly burrowing deeper into the ground as they can burrow quite swiftly in loose soil. Due to this reclusiveness, very little is known of their life history, although Arnold et al mention that when disturbed the skink may move its conspicuously striped tail more than the head, suggesting a decoy to deflect predators. Scalation details: small prefrontals present; supranasals broadly in contact, no partial separation by apex of rostral; frontonasal half, or less than half as long as the frontal. Dorsal scalation: 18 scale rows at posterior third of body [see Anderson and Leviton for an explanation of the scale counts in this area]. Other: snout obtuse and rounded. Coloration: (in life) dorsally cream, buff or brown, elsewhere paler and greyer, usually with a pattern of fine dark lines or rows of flecks, best developed on the tail and least on the back; this pattern is most distinct in young animals. (In preservative) dorsally cream; 4 median dorsal scale rows lack dark markings or have 4 faint dark lines; broad brown lateral stripes from nostril to tip of tail, 3 scale rows wide; 5 brown lines on ventrum from chin to end of tail; dorsally tail has 4 narrow brown lines. |
| O. raithmai |
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India (Gujarat and W Rajasthan), adj. Pakistan |
Max 99mm SVL |
Found in sandy desert areas. Diet includes locusts and also termites, moths, grasshoppers, cockroaches and beetles [Das]. It is crepuscular and fossorial, living mainly at the base of shrubs, though may be found on the surface as well. Scalation details: supranasals usually narrowly in contact, partially separated by apex of rostral; frontonasal broader than long; prefrontals in contact with upper labials; parietals not in contact behind interparietal; parietal does not contact with anterior temporal; postocular scale much larger than posterior suboculars. Dorsal scalation: 22 (sometimes 20) scale rows at midbody, 106-114 transverse rows. Other: snout cuneiform with sharp angular labial edge; distinct ventrolateral edge from snout to groin; 3 fingers, 3 toes; 4-6 scales (usually) on 3rd toe, which is the longest. Coloration dorsally pale brown, often suffused with yellow ochre (in life), dorsally cream or pale brown (in preservative); each scale of the 8-10 dorsal and dorsolateral longitudinal rows has a dark brown line made up of dots from the nape to the hind limbs, reducing to 6-8 lines on the tail; hind limbs have dorsal brown dots; dark brown line from nostril through eye across temporal region; dark brown markings on median head shields; ventrally cream or tan. |
| O. streeti |
Street's Snake Skink |
Iran |
Max 90mm SVL |
Scalation details: supranasals broadly in contact medially; frontonasal longer than broad; prefrontals not in contact with upper labials; parietals in contact posteriorly; preocular and loreal form vertical suture with each other. Dorsal scalation: 20 scale rows at midbody, 109-112 transverse rows. Other: snout cuneiform with sharp angular labial edge; 3 fingers, 3 toes. Coloration (in preservative): dorsally cream; each scale of the 8 dorsal rows has a dark brown spot, which form longitudinal lines from the posterior head shields to the hind limbs, and of which 6 of the lines continue onto the tail; ventrally and laterally white. |
| O. tridactylus |
Three-Toed Snake Skink |
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India |
Max TL 18½cm |
On the Indian subcontinent this species is confined to the sandy tracts of NW Rajasthan and Pakistan. It is nocturnal and feeds largely on beetles and termites. There is a winter hibernation period. Scalation details: supranasals usually narrow in contact, partly separated by the apex of the rostral; frontonasal broader than long; prefrontals in contact with upper labials; prefrontal projects laterally downwards to form suture with 3rd & 4th supralabials; 5th & 6th supralabials fused to form single large shield below eye; parietals not in contact behind interparietal; parietal in contact with anterior temporal; postocular scale about as large as posterior suboculars. Dorsal scalation: 22 (sometimes 20) scale rows at midbody, 101-122 transverse rows. Other: snout cuneiform with sharp angular labial edge; distinct ventrolateral edge from snout to groin; 3 fingers, 3 toes; 7-8 scales (usually) on 3rd toe, which is the longest. Coloration (in preservative): dorsally cream or pale brown; dorsolateral brown line composed of dots on 1-2 scale rows may be present, running from nostril through eye onto body and as far as tail; sometimes scattered dark spots on dorsum; dorsal surface of hind limbs has brown spots; tail has brown dots in lines on dorsal surface; ventrally cream. Anderson and Leviton note that all the specimens they examined from Iran and Afghanistan had the dark lateral markings. |
Bibliography
A Review of the Genus Ophiomorus (Sauria: Scincidae), with descriptions of three new forms, Steven C Anderson and Alan E Leviton, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series, Vol 33, No 16, pp. 499-534, July 8 1966. For many years the standard work on this genus: the maximum snout-vent lengths and the scalation details are taken from this publication. It includes a discussion of the role of changing winds as a means of population isolation.
The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians, J C Daniel, Oxford University Press, 2002. Gives some basic details on O. tridactylus.
A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India, Indraneil Das, New Holland UK, 2008. Handy pocket-sized guide to about half of India's reptile species; gives some details for O. raithmai.
Lurche und Kriechtiere Europas [Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe], Dr Wolf-Eberhard Engelmann, Jürgen Fritzsche, Dr sc. Rainer Günther and Dipl.Biol. Fritz Jürgen Obst, Ferdinand Enke Verlag, Stuttgart 1986. Contains details on O. punctatissimus.
Collins Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe, E N Arnold, J A Burton and D W Ovenden, HarperCollins, London 1978. An invaluable guide, although a few of the taxonomic details are in need of revision: as yet I do not have the 2002 edition. Contains details on O. punctatissimus.
I do not yet have a copy, but I would imagine that further and possibly more updated information on the Iranian species would be contained in Steven C Anderson's Lizards of Iran (SSAR, 1999). There are also a few books on Indian lizards such as the one by Murthy, while Malcolm Smith's 1935 work on Indian reptiles is (last time I looked) still readable as an E-book on the Internet.
Links
www.herp.it has some fine photographs of Ophiomorus punctatissimus.
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