Minor snake-eyed skink explained

The minor snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus grayanus) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Asia.

Geographic range

A. grayanaus can be found in Afghanistan,^[1] western India,^[1] Iran,^[1] and Pakistan.^[1]

Habitat

A. grayanus is found in a variety of habitats including desert, rocky areas, grassland, freshwater wetlands, gardens, and houses, and has been found at altitudes as high as .

Description

A. grayanus may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of, plus a tail length of .^[2] It has no external ear openings.^[2] There are 18 or 20 scale rows at midbody.^[1]

Behavior

A. grayanus is diurnal and terrestrial.

Reproduction

A. grayanus is oviparous.^[1] Eggs are laid in spring, and clutch size is one to two eggs.

Etymology

The specific name, grayanus, is in honor of British herpetologist John Edward Gray.^[3]

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ, Scincidæ, Anelytropidæ, Dibamidæ, Chamæleontidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I–XL. (Ablepharus grayanus, new combination, p. 352).
• Karamiani R, Rastegar-Pouyani N, Rastegar-Pouyani E, Akbarpour M, Damadi E (2015). "Verification of the Minor Snake-eyed Skink, Ablepharus grayanus (Stolczka, 1872) (Sauria: Scincidae), from Iran". Zoology in the Middle East 61 (3): 226.
• Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
• Stoliczka F (1872). "Notes on the Reptilian and Amphibian Fauna of Kachh". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1872: 71–85. (Blepharosteres grayanus, new species, pp. 74–75).

Notes and References

1. www.reptile-database.org.
2. [Malcolm Arthur Smith|Smith MA]
3. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]