Added 28 February 2014. Last updated 30 November 2025: added further details to Introduction, added new species, and updated Bibliography.
Found from south-eastern and eastern Europe across Asia Minor, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Boulenger and Anderson give the characteristics for the genus as follows: palatine and pterygoid bones in contact mesially, palatal notch not extending forwards to between the centre of the eye; pterygoids toothless; maxillary teeth conical; no movable eyelids, eye being covered by a transparent disk created by fusing of lower and upper eyelids; outer ear opening small or absent; nostril pierced in the nasal; supranasals absent; limbs more or less developed; oviparous.
The genus has undergone some revision over the past decades, with a large number of species being split off into separate genera (e.g. Cryptoablepharus, Panaspis and others).
Among herpetoculturists this genus does not seem to be kept often. Husbandry details for A. kitaibelli can be found in Rogner, and briefly in Zimmermann under the section on Chalcides bedriagai.
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QUICK INDEX |
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A. alaicus, Alai Ground Skink |
A. anatolicus, Two-Lined |
A. bivittatus, Two-Lined Lidless Skink |
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A. chernovi, Chernov's Skink |
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A. deserti, Desert Lidless Skink |
A. deserti, Desert Lidless Skink |
A. eremchenkoi, Minor Lidless Skink |
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A. grayanus, Minor Lidless Skink |
A. grayanus, Minor Lidless Skink |
A. himalayanus, Himalaya Ground Skink |
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A. kitaibelli, Juniper Skink, Snake-Eyed Skink |
A. ladacensis, Ladak Ground Skink |
A. lindbergi, Lindberg's Snake-Eyed Skink |
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A. mabharatus, Mabharat Ground Skink |
A. nepalensis, Nepal Ground Skink |
A. pannonicus, Asian Snake-Eyed Skink |
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A. rueppellii, Rueppel's Snake-Eyed Skink |
A. sikkimensis, Sikkim Ground Skink, Bronzy-Brown Skink |
A. tragbulensis, Tragbul Ground Skink Skink |
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Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
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Ablepharus |
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Alai Ground Skink |
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, N China |
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Formerly assigned to Asymblepharus. |
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A. a. alaicus |
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A. a. kucenkoi |
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China |
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A. a. yakovlevae |
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, poss. Tajikistan |
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S Turkey (Anatolia) |
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Still considered a subspecies of A. budaki by some authorities: see Reptile Database entry. |
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Two-Lined Lidless Skink |
Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan |
TL 9½cm; SVL approx 4cm [NB: Anderson states SVL 5 (m) or 6 (f) cm |
Found in dry areas where it hides among shrubs if threatened. Scalation details: rostral largely in contact with frontonasal, does not project; prefrontals form median suture which nearly equals length of frontonasal; frontal large, as long as the frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with 1st and 2nd supraoculars; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct; 3 (sometimes 4) supraoculars, of which 1st largest; 5 supraciliaries, of which 1st largest; 2 or 3 pairs of nuchals; 4 supralabials before subocular; eye entirely surrounded by circle of granules or small scales, of which 3 on upper border are the largest; 2 minute lobules project anteriorly on ear opening; 22-25 scale rows at midbody; dorsals largest, lateral scales smallest; 2 very large preanals. Other: snout short, obtuse; ear opening small, suboval; limbs well developed, overlap when adpressed; digits obtusely keeled below . Coloration: bronze-olive above, with darker spots with light central shaft; dark band on either side, edged with a whitish streak below, running from nostril and through the eye; lower surfaces greenish-white. Reproduction: currently no details available. [SOURCE: Anderson, Boulenger] |
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Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon |
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Described in 1996-7: see Reptile Database entry. |
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A. b. budaki |
Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon |
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A. b. anatolicus |
Turkey |
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Chernov's Skink |
E Turkey, N Syria, Armenia [check with Engelmann] |
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Scalation details: 18-19 rows at midbody. Other: body slim; limbs short; ear opening absent, or only depression visible; Coloration: dorsally brown; 4 broken dark longitudinal lines; ventrally reddish-orange [SOURCE: Fuhn] |
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A. c. chernovi |
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Turkey, Syria, Armenia |
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A. c. eiselti |
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Turkey |
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A. c. isauriensis |
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Turkey |
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A. c. ressli |
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S Turkey |
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Tajikstan |
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Desert Lidless Skink |
S Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, E Turkmenistan, N Tadjikstan, Kyrgyzstan |
TL 11cm; SVL 4cm |
. Scalation details: rostral does not project; frontonasal in contact with rostral and frontal; frontal nearly as long as the frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with 1st and 2nd supraoculars; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct; 3 (sometimes 4) supraoculars, of which 1st largest; 5 supraciliaries, of which 2nd largest; 2 or 3 pairs of nuchals; 4 supralabials before subocular; eye entirely surrounded by circle of granules or small scales, upper border is very elongated; 20-22 scale rows at midbody; dorsals largest; 2 very large preanals. Other: snout short, obtuse; ear opening small, suboval; limbs short, do not meet when adpressed; digits smooth or obtusely keeled below . Coloration: bronze-olive above, either uniform or with 3 more or less distinct longitudinal dark brown dorsal lines; dark brown, light-edged band on either side, running from nostril and through the eye; lower surfaces greenish-white. Reproduction: currently no details available. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
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Minor Lidless Skink |
Afghanistan, S Pakistan, SW India, |
SVL approx. 3 cm |
See discussion in Anderson. A. grayanus differs from A. pannonicus primarily in the absence of an external ear opening and lack of red tinge on undersurface of tail and legs. Snout: short, obtuse, rostral not projecting. Scalation details: rostral largely in contact with the frontonasal, which is in contact with the frontal three supraoculars, followed by two small ones, obliquely descending on the temporal region; frontoparietal single; interparietal distinct; four labials anterior to the subocular. 18 or 20 scales round the middle of the body. Two enlarged preanals. Ear: hidden. Limbs: short, pentadactyle. Coloration: above olive-green, with a very distinct metallic lustre, a little darker at the sides, speckled with black, and gradually passing into the uniform greenish-white lower side; a silvery green narrow band from the supraciliary edge to the base of the tail, edged with black below; limbs brown above, marked with rows of white spots; tail with a pink tinge. [SOURCE: Anderson, Boulenger] |
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Himalaya Ground Skink |
N Pakistan, India, W Nepal, Turkmenistan |
SVL approx 15.5 cm, TL approx 25 cm |
Formerly assigned to Scincella or Asymblepharus. Habit lacertiform; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore limb is contained once and a half to twice in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout: short, obtuse. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Nostril pierced in the nasal; no supranasal; frontonasal broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral and with the frontal ; latter shield as long as frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two, rarely three, anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars, second largest; six to eight supraciliaries; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct, subequal, or latter smallest; parietals forming a suture behind the interparietal; three or four pairs of nuchals; fifth upper labial entering the orbit. Ear-opening oval, much smaller than the eye opening, about as large as the transparent palpebral disk, with one to three projecting lobules or granules anteriorly. 26 to 30 smooth scales round the middle of the body; dorsals largest, laterals smallest. A pair of large preanals. The adpressed limbs fail to meet, meet, or overlap. Digits subcylindrical ; subdigital lamellae smooth, 16 to 18 under the fourth toe. Tail once and two fifths to once and two thirds the length of head and body. Coloration: bronzy olive or brown above, with small dark, and sometimes also light, spots; a blackish vertebral streak sometimes present; a broad blackish-brown lateral band, usually edged above and below by a light streak; lower surfaces greenish white or plumbeous. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
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Juniper Skink, Snake-Eyed Skink |
SE & E Europe, Greek islands and Middle East; see subspecies for further details |
Max 12 cm |
Reproduction: Zimmermann gives a clutch size of 4 and sexual maturity in 2 years. |
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A. k. kitaibelli |
Greece and Aegean islands inc. Rhodes, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Sinai peninsula |
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Scalation details: 3 front supralabials; 18 rows at midbody. Other: noticeably narrow form; head narrow; limbs thin, weak; 4th toe short. Coloration: dark or chocolate brown, without markings or only with fine points or dashes; ventrally black-grey-bluish [SOURCE: Fuhn] |
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A. k. fabichi |
Aegean islands east of Crete (Karpathos, Mikronisi, Kasos and Armathia) |
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Scalation details: 3 front supralabials; 20 rows at midbody. Other: large and robust in form; limbs noticeably long, strong; 4th toe long and thin. Coloration: light brownish-green with pearl sheen; 2-4 longitudinal rows of black-white flecks; ventrally black-grey-bluish . [SOURCE: Fuhn] |
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A. k. fitzingeri |
Slovakia, N Serbia, Hungary, Greece (inc. Corfu) |
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Scalation details: 4 front supralabials (occasionally reduced to 3 by fusion of supralabials 3 & 4); 20-22 rows at midbody. Other: large and robust in form; head noticeably broad; limbs short, strong; 4th toe short. Coloration: light, greenish sheen; 4-6 longitudinal rows of small white flecks bordered in black; ventrally black-grey-bluish. [SOURCE: Fuhn] |
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A. k. stepaneki |
Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania |
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Scalation details: 3 front supralabials; 20 rows at midbody. Other: large and robust in form; head broad; limbs strong; 4th toe short; Coloration: 2-4 longitudinal rows of black and white remnants of longitudinal lines; ventrally black-grey-bluish. [SOURCE: Fuhn] |
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Ladak Ground Skink |
N Pakistan, India, W Nepal, China (Tibet) |
SVL 12 cm, TL approx 18.5 cm |
Formerly assigned to Scincella or Asymblepharus. Habit lacertiform; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore limb is contained once and a half to once and two thirds in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout short, obtuse. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Nostril pierced in the nasal; no supranasal; frontonasal broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral, and usually also with the frontal; latter > shield as long as or a little longer than frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the three anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars, second and third equal; six to eight supraciliaries; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct, subequal; parietals forming a suture behind the interparietal; three or four pairs of nuchals; fifth or sixth upper labial entering the orbit. Ear- opening oval, much smaller than the eye-opening, with two or three projecting lobules or granules anteriorly. 32 to 38 smooth scales round the middle of the body; laterals smallest. A pair of large preanals. The adpressed limbs meet or overlap. 'Digits subcylindrical; subdigital lamellae smooth, 21 to 24 under the fourth toe. Tail a little longer than head and body. Coloration: bronzy olive above, with small darker and lighter spots; a more or less dark brown lateral band, dotted with pale olive, sometimes bordered above and below by a light streak; lower surfaces greenish. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
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A. l. ladacensis |
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A. l. stimsoni |
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Lindberg's Twin-Striped Skink, Lindberg's Snake-Eyed Skink |
W Afghanistan |
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Formerly considered a subspecies of A. bivittatus. |
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Mabharat Ground Skink |
Nepal |
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Formerly assigned to Asymblepharus: see Reptile Database entry. |
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Nepal Ground Skink |
Nepal |
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Formerly assigned to Asymblepharus: see Reptile Database entry. |
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Asian Snake-Eyed Skink |
Iran, Iraq, Georgia, S Turkmenistan, S Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, W Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, NW India, Jordan, Syria, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman |
TL 10cm, SVL 5cm (Anderson states usually SVL 3½cm, TL 9½cm) |
Terrestrial, known to feed on small beetles, acridids and ants [Anderson]. Scalation details: rostral does not project; frontonasal in contact with rostral and frontal; prefrontals separated; frontal moderate, in contact with 1st and 2nd supraoculars; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct; 2 large supraoculars, of which 1st in contact with eye and preceded by 2 supraciliaries; 3 or 4 pairs of nuchals; 3 supralabials before subocular; eye incompletely surrounded granules; 2 minute lobules project anteriorly on ear opening; 20-22 scale rows at midbody; dorsals largest; 2 very large preanals. Other: body very elongate; snout short, obtuse; ear opening minute; limbs very short, widely separated when adpressed; digits obtusely keeled below . Coloration: bronze-olive above, either uniform or with 3 more or less distinct longitudinal dark brown dorsal lines; dark brown, light-edged band on either side, running from nostril and through the eye; lower surfaces greenish-white. Reproduction: currently no details available. [SOURCE: Anderson, Boulenger] |
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Rueppel's Snake-Eyed Skink |
Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria |
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A. r. rueppellii |
Egypt, Israel |
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A. r. festae |
Jordan, Lebanon, Syria |
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Sikkim Ground Skink, Bronzy-Brown Skink |
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China (Tibet/Xizang) |
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Formerly assigned to Scincella or Asymblepharus. Description: body more or less elongate; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore limb is contained once and one third to twice in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout short, obtuse. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Scalation details: nostril pierced in the nasal; no supranasal; frontonasal broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral and usually also with the frontal; latter shield as long as frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars, second largest; seven or eight supraciliaries; frontoparietals and interparietal distinct, subequal; parietals forming a suture behind the interparietal; two to four pairs of nuchals; fifth upper labial entering the orbit. Ear-opening small, smaller than the transparent palpebral disk, with or without very indistinct lobules. 22 to 24 smooth scales round the middle of the body; dorsals largest. A pair of large preanals. The adpressed limbs fail to meet, meet, or overlap. Digits subcylindrical; subdigital lamellae smooth, 16 to 19 under the fourth toe. Tail: once and a half to once and three fourths the length of head and body. Coloration: bronzy olive or brown above, dark brown on the sides, which are limited above by a blackish line; back with small blackish spots ; sides with small light spots; lower surfaces whitish. [SOURCE: Boulenger (there listed under Lygosoma)] |
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Tragbul Ground Skink |
India, poss. Pakistan |
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Originally considered a subspecies of Ablepharus himalayanus. Founded on two specimens. In this variety, which was found on the descent from the Tragbal Pass, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, the crown of the head is beautifully mottled; and the back, from the nape to the root of the tail, is traversed longitudinally by ten or eleven sharply-defined, alternate dark brown and greyish-white stripes. There are 21 scales on the under-surface of the fourth toe. In one specimen the 6th upper labial enters the orbit, in the other the 6th as usual. [SOURCE: Alcock] |
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A W Alcock, “Report on the Natural History Results of the Pamir Boundary Commission”, Calcutta, 1897.