Eutropis macularia
The bronze grass skink or bronze mabuya (Eutropis macularia) is a species of skink found in South and Southeast Asia.[1]
Eutropis macularia | |
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on a tree trunk, in Laos | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Scincidae |
Genus: | Eutropis |
Species: | E. macularia |
Binomial name | |
Eutropis macularia (Blyth, 1853) | |
Synonyms | |
Mabuya macularia (Blyth, 1853) |
Description
Physical structure: Body cylindrical, dorsal scales with 5-8 keels, ventral scales smooth; 28-30 scales round the body. A pair of dorso-lateral bands starts from above the eye till the base of the tail. As with other Eutropis species the scales are keeled.[2]
Color pattern: Deep-brown, olive or bronze-brown in color; dorso-lateral bands light or yellow; sometimes with black spots on the base of the tail. Breeding males have orange color on the lateral side of the body. Juveniles are grey with a bronze head.[2]
Length: Maximum: 23 cm, common: 16 cm (SVL 7 cm).[3]
Distribution
This skink is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia (northwestern), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Type locality is Rangpur, Bengal [Bangladesh].[1]
Impact on humans and ecology
No known human uses. Plays a role in ecosystem by eating various types of insects and otherwise.
Threat to humans
Non-venomous and harmless to humans. May bite when handled, but is not dangerous.
IUCN threat status
Not Evaluated (NE).
Tail regeneration
Can break off its own tail when grabbed by predators; the tail regenerative and will grow back over time.
Gallery
- Eutropis macularia eating a frog in Laos
- Bronze Grass Skink
- at Pocharam, Andhra Pradesh
References
- Eutropis macularia at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 July 2014.
- "Eutropis macularia (Blyth, 1853)". Reptiles of Madhya Pradesh. Snake Research Organization Ujjain. 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- "Speckled Forest Skink". Ecology Asia. 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
Further reading
- Annandale, N. 1909 Rec. Ind. Mus. 3: 257
- Blanford, W.T. 1879 Notes on a collection of reptiles and frogs from the neighbourhood of Ellore and Dumagudem. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal xlviii: 109-116
- Blyth, E. 1854 Notices and descriptions of various reptiles, new or little-known. Part I. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 22 [1853]: 639-655
- Das I. 1991 A new species of Mabuya from Tamil Nadu State, Southern India (Squamata: Scincidae). Journal of Herpetology 25 (3): 342-344.
- Mausfeld, P.; Vences, M. Schmitz, A. & Veith, M. 2000 First data on the molecular phylogeography of scincid lizards of the genus Mabuya. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 17 (1): 11-14
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