Mochlus Explained

Mochlus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to Africa.

Description

Skinks of the genus Mochlus are cylindrical in shape and robust. They get the common name "writhing skinks" from the side-to-side movement that they make when held in the hand.

Diet

Skinks in the genus Mochlus feed on insects and millipedes.^[1]

Species

The following 19 species are recognized as being valid.^[2]

• Mochlus brevicaudis
• Mochlus fernandi – fire skink
• Mochlus grandisonianus – Lanza's writhing skink
• Mochlus guineensis – Guinean forest skink
• Mochlus hinkeli – Hinkel's red-sided skink, Hinkel's red-flanked skink
• Mochlus laeviceps (W. Peters, 1874) – common writhing skink
• Mochlus lanceolatus Broadley, 1990 – Broadley's writhing skink
• Mochlus mabuiiformis – Mabuya-like writhing skink
• Mochlus mafianus – mafia writhing skink
• Mochlus mocquardi – Mocquard's writhing skink^[3]
• Mochlus paedocarinatus – Lanza's writhing skink, Abyssinian writhing skink
• Mochlus pembanus Boettger, 1913 – Pemba Island writhing skink
• Mochlus productus – Boulenger's writhing skink
• Mochlus simonettai – Simonetta's writhing skink
• Mochlus somalicus – Somali writhing skink
• Mochlus striatus
• Mochlus sundevallii – Sundevall's writhing skink
• Mochlus tanae – Loveridge's writhing skink, Tana River writhing skink
• Mochlus vinciguerrae – Vinciguerra's writhing skink

Nota bene

A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Mochlus.

Further reading

Günther A (1864). "Report on a Collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by Dr. Kirk in the Zambesi and Nyassa Regions". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864: 303–314. (Mochlus, new genus, p. 308).

Notes and References

1. Alexander, Graham; Marais, Johan (2008). A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers. 408 pp. . ("Writhing Skinks", pp. 247-248).
2. . www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Lygosoma mocquardi, p. 181).