| M. altamirani |
Tepalcatepec Skink |
Mexico (Michoacán) |
SVL 10 cm |
Scalation details: rostral much broader than high; supranasals moderate; frontonasal moderately large, narrowly touching frontal, broadly contacting anterior loreal; frontal relatively narrow; frontoparietals quadrangular, in contact medially by a narrow margin; interparietal of roughly same area as single frontoparietal; parietals narrow, diagonal, about twice as long as wide, enclosing the interparietal; nuchals five-four, all very broad; nasal small, at least partially divided; ventral suture from nostril reaches rostral; postnasal relatively very large, at least half area of entire nasal; anterior loreal much higher than wide, touching 2nd & 3rd labials, as large as posterior loreal; posterior loreal not twice as long as high; 3 presuboculars; 5 suboculars, the 3 lower very small; 8 superciliaries, the first somewhat larger than the last; upper palpebral scales in contact with supraoculars except one or two at the front, these being separated by 1-2 granular scales; lower eyelid has 3 enlarged scutes separated from the subocular by 2-3 rows of granules; primary temporal rather small, in contact with lower secondary; lower secondary very large; upper secondary temporal elongate, narrow, wider osteriorly; tertiary temporal small, narrow, separated from 1st nuchal by single scale; 8 supralabials, of which 5th smallest and 8th largest, latter separated from auricaular lobules by 2 superimposed pairs of postlabials; 3 auricular lobules, of which upper largest, all rather low; auricular opening high and narrow, surrounded by about 22 scales; mental with labial border longer than rostral; postmental undivided; 1st pair of chinshields narrowly separated anteriorly; 2nd pair largest, narrowly separated, but first two pairs enclose quadrangular scale; 3rd pair separated by 3 scales; pair of postgenial, of which inner narrow and larger than outer; 7 sublabials. Dorsal scalation: 23 scale rows around narrow part of neck, 19 at midbody, 11 around tail at base. Subcaudals: 85, of which 1st separated from anus by 3 rows of small scales. Coloration: overall brownish-yellow: see Taylor for details of coloration in alcohol. Reproduction: no details available. [SOURCE: Taylor 1936] |
| M. schwartzei |
Schwartze's Skink |
Mexico (Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, Chiapas), Guatemala, Belize |
SVL 12 cm |
Largest skink in Yucatan Peninsula, but not a common inhabitant. Habitat is dry deciduous and mesic forests, where it is found beneath surface debris, basking on trunks or amid stones of ruins. Can be distinguished from the similar-looking P. sumichrasti by its enlarged vertebral scale row. Scalation details: ??. Coloration: broad dark brown stripe runs from snout across upper surface of head on to body, bordered by 2 light tan or cream stripes beginning at snout, broadening posteriorly passing over the eyes, extending on to body and largely replacing the darker median stripe on posterior third of body; dark brown stripe runs laterally from nostril through eye and on to body where it breaks up into series of dark and light spots; posterior third of body and sides of tail covered with numerous quadrangular spots on tan or yellowish background; chin, throat and ventral surfaces of body and tail cream or light tan. Reproduction: no details available. [SOURCE: Lee] |