Eutropis

QUICK INDEX

E. allapallensis

E. andamanensis, Andaman Grass Skink

E. beddomii

E. bibronii, Sand Skink

E. carinata , Keeled Indian Mabuya/Golden Skink/Many-Keeled Grass Skink

E. clivicola

E. cumingi

E. darevskii

E. dissimilis, Striped Grass Skink

E. englei, Six-Striped Mabouya

E. gansi

E. indeprensa

E. innotata

E. longicaudata, Giant Copper Skink

E. macularia, Bronze Grass Skink/Little Skink

E. multicarinata, Two-Striped Mabouya

E. multifasciata, Golden Skink

E. nagarjuni

E. novemcarinata

E. quadratilobus

E. quadricarinata, Four-Keeled Grass Skink

E. rudis, Brown Mabouya

E. rugifera, Sulawesi Bronze Bush Skink

E. trivittata

E. tytleri, Tytler's Grass Skink

Scientific Name

Common Name

Distribution

Size

Notes

Eutropis

E. allapallensis

??

India

?"

?? B I

E. andamanensis

Andaman Grass Skink

Andaman Islands inc. Cocos Group (Indian Ocean)

SVL 11cm

Fairly common species within its distribution range. Dorsal scalation: 5-7 large keels per scale. Coloration: dorsum brown; 2 rows of black spots along vertebral line; dark stripe from corner of eyes to halfway along side of body; belly yellowish cream. Reproduction: in breeding season, sides of head, neck and belly become bright red. [SOURCE: Das] B I

E. beddomii

??

India, Sri Lanka

SVL 5cm

The following details are recorded from Taylor's 4 Sri Lankan specimens in 1950. Scalation details: supranasals broadly in contact; frontonasal reduced, much wider than long; postnasal absent; prefrontal broadly in contact; 6 superciliaries; height of subocular about half its length; 1 pair of nuchals; temporals smooth; eyelid with 3-4 enlarged scales; 1st pair of chinshields separated. Dorsal scalation: dorsal and lateral scales weakly keeled with 3 (sometimes 5) keels; 30-31 rows at midbody. Coloration: dorsally brown; shortish black-edged stripe from nuchals to front of arm; broad dorsolateral dark stripe running to some distance on tail, bordered above by very narrow cream line and below by cream or white line about 2½ scales wide; latter line bordered below by dim dark line; lateral cream line runs from upper lip mostly above rather than through ear; ventrally immaculate white. Taylor notes that the Sri Lankan specimens differ from Indian specimens in having a reduced middorsal line [SOURCE: Taylor] B I

E. bibroni

Sand Skink

India (Tamil Nadu)

11½ cm TL (5cm SVL)

Agile and active species, common in coastal sand dunes where it forages among vegetation. Scalation: dorsal and lateral scales have 5-7 keels (3 in juveniles). Other: transparent window present in lower eyelid. Coloration: dorsally brown with a black-edged vertebral stripe; white-edged black lateral stripe runs from eye to tailbase: ventrally white. [SOURCE: Daniel] B I

E. carinata

Keeled Indian Mabuya/Golden Skink/Many- Keeled Grass Skink/Common/ Brahminy Skink

Indian subcontinent & Indian Ocean

?"

E. carinata basks at noon on warm blocks of stone. In coloration it is light bronze with 4-6 dorsal rows of black spots and dark lateral bands bordered by 2 narrow yellow stripes. Grzimek mentions that a subspecies has a lateral red band, but I am not certain whether this refers to E. c. lankae. The female lays 2-3 eggs per clutch in loamy soil. Das mentions the species laying clutches of 2-8 eggs in August-September, the young emerging May-June. [SOURCE: Daniel, Das, Grzimek] B I

E. c. carinata

??

India (not NW), Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka

29cm max TL (16½cm SVL)

The most common Indian skink, especially common in Bengal. Unusually for a skink, it is not shy of entering houses in its search for food, as well as creeping through leaf litter. It is mainly insectivorous but will also take small vertebrates. Scalation: 30-34 midbody scales, with 3, 5 or 7 keels. Other: scaly lower eyelid; 4th toe has 14-18 digital sublamellae. Coloration: dorsally shiny brown, olive or bronze, dark spots often present, flanks darker; light dorsolateral band runs from behind eye to tailbase; upper lip white; ventrally white or yellow. Reproduction: flanks of males turn scarlet in the breeding season. Ovoviviparous females give birth to up to 8 young per litter [NB I am not sure whether this invalidates Grzimek's species account above]. [SOURCE: Daniel]

E. c. lankae

??

Sri Lanka

?"

??

E. clivicola

??

India

?"

?? B I

E. cumingi

??

Philippines (Luzon)

?"

?? B I

E. darevskii

??

Vietnam

?"

?? B I

E. dissimilis

Striped Grass Skink, Striped Ground Skink

India (not NW), Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh

6" SVL

Closely allied to E. bibroni. It is common in the dry western districts of its Indian range. Scalation: 2-3 keels on scales; ventral scales smooth; 32-38 longitudinal scale rows at midbody; 12-17 lamellae on 4^th toe. Other: snout short; auricular opening oval with 3-4 lobules; lower eyelid with clear window. Coloration: light brown (Daniel) with 3 greenish-white stripes bordered with black line or spots; eyelids edged in yellow. [SOURCE: Daniel, Das 2015] B I

E. englei

Six-Striped Mabouya

Philippines (Mindanao)

45-70mm SVL

Specimens of this species collected by Taylor were from low vegetation and cultivated areas near the beach. The species is quite common in Mindanao. Limbs are well-developed. Scalation details [from Alcala]: 40-43 dorsal scale rows. Scales on top of head are embossed or keeled. Dorsal and lateral scales have 5-9 keels each. Coloration (in alcohol): 6 narrow, light longitudinal stripes on dorsal and dorsolateral surfaces, alternating with blackish or brownish stripes of about equal width (sometimes nearly uniform brown). Ventrally light. B I

E. floweri

Sri Lanka

Max SVL 5½cm, TL 15cm?

This species is not listed by the Reptile Database, either as an extant species or synonym, but is listed by other authorities. It is described by Taylor (see Bibliography). Scalation details: frontal short, equal to or slightly less than distance from tip of snout, shorter than combined length of interparietal and frontoparietals; postnasal absent; supranasals separated; prefrontals and parietals separated; first chinshields separated; 6 superciliaries; palebra (transparent eyelid) broken up into 3-4 short quadrangular scales. Dorsal scalation: most scales tricarinate, in 30 scales rows about body and 18 dorsal and lateral rows which are heavily keeled. Ventral scalation: smooth, in 12 rows. Other: well-defined swollen area on posterior of thigh, covered with large, more or less regular, pointed scales. Coloration: dorsally dull olive with metallic reflections; greenish white dorsolateral line from eye to base of tail, fading towards tail; broad brownish band from eye to groin; indistinct white line on supralabials becomes sharper behind the eye, bordering the ear and running below brown band to groin; top of head brownish; 2 rows of about 20 short transverse dorsal marks run from shoulder to base of tail; ventral surface pale with slight greenish tinge. [SOURCE: Taylor] B I

E. gansi

??

S India

?"

?? B I

E. indeprensa

Philippine Ground Skink

Indonesia (Borneo), Philippines (Panay; Palawan: Calamian Islands, Negros, Cebu)

?"

An inhabitant of lowland forests and mid-hills, up to 1,200m: often found in vicinity of human settlements [Das]. [SOURCE: Alcala, Das 2015] B I

E. innotata

??

India

?"

?? B I

E. longicaudata

Long-Tailed Skink, Giant Copper Skink

S China, W Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, poss. Cambodia

40cmTL, max SVL 14cm

In Hong Kong, found at altitudes up to 500m and in one part coexists with Eumeces quadrilineatus. Karsen et al record it as eating earthworms as well as the usual insects. Preferred habitat in this area is dry hillsides with tall grass and large boulder outcroppings. An inhabitant of lowland forests and mid-hills, up to 500m: often found in vicinity of human settlements [Das]. Scalation details: 7 supralabials; frontoparietals in broad contact; 4^th supralabial subocular; paired enlarged nuchals; many small scales around eye; auricular opening small, with or without anterior lobules; preanals enlarged. Dorsal scalation: middorsal scales slightly keeled; 28 scale rows at midbody. Coloration: overall rich- to red-brown; dark brown lateral band runs from eye to tip of tail; lips yellow with black barring; ventrally yellowish. Reproduction: lays up to 16 eggs, often in the same nesting places as those of geckos. Incubation time is 6 weeks. [SOURCE: Das 2015, Karsen et al] B I

E. macularia

Bronze Grass Skink/Little Skink/Little Ground Skink

Indian subcontinent and SE Asia

SVL 7½-8cm

In India, common in forested areas, also found in plantations. Scalation: 28-30 rows at midbody with 5-9 (but never 8) keels. Other: 4th toe has 12-17 lamellae. Coloration: variable, but generally brown: spots may be present or absent; Das describes Indian species as having a bronze brown dorsum, with or without spots, sides darker, spotted with white especially in males and juveniles, brown or grey in females, belly immaculate cream. Reproduction: in breeding season males have bright red lips and flanks. Females with 3-4 eggs have been collected in June, though Das states that in Indian specimens clutches normally comprise 1-2 (usually 2) eggs, and that more than one clutch is laid annually. [SOURCE: Daniel, Das]. B I

E. m. macularia

E. m. malcomi

E. m. postnasalis

E. m. quadrifasciata

E. multicarinata

Two-Striped Mabouya

Malaysia (Borneo), Philippines (Palau Islands), Taiwan (Lanyu)

50-85 mm SVL

Similar to, but smaller than, E. multifasciata, with which it coexists in some areas and shares the same microhabitats and is behaviourally similar. Limbs are well-developed. The eardrum is sunk and the ear opening moderate. Scalation details [from Alcala]: 38-45 dorsal scale rows. Scales on top of head are embossed or keeled. Dorsal and lateral scales are keeled, usually with 5-7 keels each. Coloration: overall brown. There may be 2 light longitudinal stripes on each side running from the head to the base of the tail, with a dark band between them: in most individuals the dark bands disappear behind the forelimbs and the white stripes are only discernible on the neck and sometimes a little beyond on the body. Alcala notes that the stripes and bands may not be discernible in specimens preserved in alcohol. Ventrally lighter. Reproduction: females lay 2 eggs per clutch in rotting vegetation. Sexual maturity is reached in about 7 months: in nature the species is one of the shorter-lived Mabuya, reaching 2½-3 years. B I

E. m. multicarinata

??

?"

??

E. m. borealis

??

Philippines (inc. Luzon and Cebu islands)

?"

??

E. multifasciata

Golden Skink, Common Mabouya, Common Sun Skink

India (extreme northeast and Bay Islands), China, SE Asia, Indonesia, Philippines and New Guinea

11-14cm SVL

Very widely distributed skink that is often seen in the pet trade. Oddly for such a cosmopolitan species there seem to be no subspecies. Click here for experiences with E. multifasciata as a pet, and here for John Sullivan's photographs. In the Philippines it is the most common Eutropis species and is widely distributed from sea level to about 1,333m [Alcala]. It is diurnal and also basks, so is easily observed. Hiding or resting places are under tree bark, in tree holes or under logs or piles of rotting vegetation. It also shelters during inclement weather. In India it is also found in disturbed habitat including around human settlements. Diet is mainly insects. Limbs are well-developed. The eardrum is sunk and the ear opening large and not covered with scales. Scalation details [from Alcala]: 42-48 dorsal scale rows. Scales on top of head are smooth. Dorsal scales are weakly keeled with 3 (sometimes 4) keels each. Coloration: overall olive brown. Juveniles and mature females have scattered lateral scales with black and white edges: males lack these but have a coloured stripe (reddish [Alcala] or orange in my own experience) on the side of the neck and on the anterior part of the body. Ventrally light. Reproduction: females give birth to 2-7 (Das states 2-10) live young. Sexual maturity is reached in about 1 year. [SOURCES: inc. Das] B I

E. nagarjuni

??

India

?"

?? B I

E. novemcarinata

Nine-Keeled Ground Skink

India (Sundas), Thailand, Burma

?"

?? B I

E. quadratilobus

??

Bhutan

?"

?? B I

E. quadricarinata

Four-Keeled Grass Skink, Four-Keeled Ground Skink

NE India (Assam), Myanmar (Burma)

SVL 5cm

A "little known skink" [Das]. Dorsal scalation: 4 keels on each scale. Coloration: dorsum overall olive brown, uniform or with longitudinally arranged small black spots; laterally, dark lines may be present or absent; belly and upper lip cream. [SOURCE: Das] B I

E. quinquecarinata

Five-Keeled Ground Skink

E. rudis

Black-Banded Ground Skink

India (Nicobar Islands), Indonesia (inc. Borneo, Java and Sumatra), Philippines (Sulu Archipelago)

85-115 mm SVL

Alcala considered this to be a rare species in 1986. It is found on the forest floor. The eardrum is sunk and the ear opening large. Scalation details [from Alcala]: 34-38 dorsal scale rows. Scales on top of head are embossed or keeled. Dorsal and dorsolateral scales are keeled, sometimes 4-5 keels each. Coloration: dorsally and laterally russet brown to dark brown: scales may have black flecks that sometimes form longitudinal lines. Ventrally yellowish except for head and throat which are bluish with black flecks. Reproduction: clutches of 2-4 eggs [Das]. SOURCES: Alcala, Das] B I

E. rugifera

Sulawesi Bronze Bush Skink, Rough-Backed Grass Skink, Red-Throated Ground Skink

India (Nicobar Islands), S Thailand, W Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (inc. Borneo, Java and Sumatra)

SVL 7cm

In the Nicobar Islands this is a forest dweller in hilly areas. Dorsal scalation: 5 (sometimes 7) keels per scale. Coloration: dorsum greenish-brown, with 5-7 longitudinal white stripes that may be broken into spots; belly greenish-cream; throat dark spotted. Reproduction: males in breeding season have bright red coloration on sides of throat. [SOURCE: Das] B I

E. trivittata

??

India

?"

?? B I

E. tytleri

Tytler's Grass Skink

India (Andaman Islands)

SVL 15cm

Found in lowland rainforest. Dorsal scalation: 3 keels per scale, of which the central keel is the weakest. Other: robust body; head large; adults have swollen cheeks. Coloration: dorsum bronze brown, uniform or with darker spots; belly greenish-cream. [SOURCE: Das] B I