Added 9 February 2003. Last updated 5 November 2003: corrected genus name in table heading.

The Scincidae

Scincus


The genus Scincus are known commonly as Sand Swimmers or Sandfish. Although they have a wide distribution, there are only three species. All are found in desert areas. Behaviourally they appear to similar to Sphenops and Chalcides, at least in their locomotion through loose sand. They are occasionally seen in the pet trade and are quite popular captives.

The characteristics of the genus are as follows: limbs well-developed; digits flat and fringed; snout wedge-shaped and mouth countersunk; upper labials angular; ventrolateral ridges.

These lizards can be kept in captivity, provided some important criteria are met. Sand is obviously essential for the setup of a home for Scincus, but KKS emphasis strongly that on no account should quartz sand (the type used for bird cages) or similar be used, as it has sharp edges. Very fine sand can also be inspired, with subsequent damage to respiratory organs, so this should also be avoided. If desert sand is unavailable they suggest washed river sand. In the cage this should be sifted weekly for faeces and every few months washed and dried at temperatures of about 120 deg C. The sand must also be fairly deep: KKS suggest at least 10cm (4"), while the Bartletts encourage about 30cm (12"). As they note, the weight of such an amount in sand should be carefully borne in mind when siting the terrarium. To keep the lower strata of the sand moist (as occurs in the wild), the Bartletts commend the use of a PVC pipe pushed down to the bottom of the terrarium and into which water is trickled: moisture is thus drawn into the sand by capillary action. Both KKS and the Bartletts note however that Scincus captives will lick water from a shallow dish if provided. The Bartletts suggest a daytime temperature gradient of 85-110 deg F, this being allowed to drop several degrees at night. KKS note that captive Scincus only show normal daytime activity at illumination levels of 800-100 W/m2, so this would appear to indicate the need for strong UV lighting. Most arthropods offered to captive lizards can be fed to these skinks. They are apparently particularly fond of small beetles: I would therefore suggest allowing standard mealworms (Tenebrio sp) to mature to the beetle stage as these are not overly large.

NOTES: KKS refers to Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa, to which this page is very indebted. See Bibliography below.

  QUICK INDEX  
S. hemprichi S. mitranus, Eastern Sand Fish S. scincus, Common Skink, Sand Fish

Scientific Name Common Name Distribution Size Notes
Scincus
S. hemprichi ? Yemen

?" No data currently available.
S. mitranus Eastern Sand Fish Arabia, Kuwait and Pakistan

?" The Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife formerly listed two subspecies for this species, S. m. mitranus and S. m. muscatensis, but this division now seems to have been dropped. It is not mentioned in the EMBL database entry (which usefully also has links to photographs of this species).
S. scincus Common Skink, Sand Fish Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sinai, S Israel and Middle East, W Africa
9"  This skink is abundant in some places, which is just as well as it has been used for food by Bedouins for centuries and for a long while was also exported to Europe and other areas as a medicinal item to be used in various apothecary treatments: hence the German common name "Apothekerskink" (Apothecary's Skink). It is found in sandy desert areas or indeed other sandy areas, but it seems that vegetation must be present: the leeward sides of dunes are particularly favoured. It is also found on the edges of oases. Despite their reputation as "sand swimmers", it is noted by KKS that most of the diurnal activity of this species is on rather than under the surface. Nevertheless much hunting for insects is done while the lizard is concealed in or beneath the sand around plants. S. scincus has in fact a very catholic diet: apart from insects (up to the size of large locusts in captivity) and mealworms, small lizards and scorpions are also taken, and also flowers, small pods and seeds: the diet seems to vary according to seasonal availability. Large amounts of sand are also regularly ingested: this appears not to be harmful to them and it has even been suggested that it helps in grinding food particles. The species is rather unique in appearance when compared to the "average" scincoid shape, with very small eyes, a wedge- or "shovel"-shaped snout, and a tail that is much shorter than the body and laterally compressed, presumably to aid in "swimming" through the sand. The scalation is very smooth. In the wild the animals may hibernate in the winter: in spring juveniles emerge before adults. Scalation details: V. large rostral which either forms a suture with frontonasal or contacts anterior angle of latter shield: 6 supraoculars; parietals shorter than inteparietal and followed by 3-5 pairs of nuchals. Nostril pierced in canthus rostralis: 7-9 supralabials; loreal region concave; ear-opening visible below line of jaw. Dorsal scales in 26-28 (sometimes 30) rows at midbody, usually same size as, or sometimes slightly larger than, ventrals. Coloration: see also the subspecies below. dorsally yellowish or brown. Each scale has small yellow or brownish spots or streaks. There are dark transversal bars on the back. Hatchlings are dorsally a salmon colour and ventrally silver-white, the scale patternings gradually developing with age. Reproduction: males rather larger. Territorial fighting begins from the end of May and lasts until July. During the early stages females may flee, but they seem to grow more relaxed as the season passes. Normally they copulate once a day. In captivity they lay eggs in June-July.
S. s. scincus

 

 

 

Egypt, NE Libya

 

 

Coloration: dorsally yellowish or brown. Each scale has small yellow or brownish spots or streaks. There are dark transversal bars on the back.
S. s. albifasciatus   Dakar, Senegal, to Atar in C Mauritanica, close to SW Morocco 8" There is uncertainty about the exact nature of this subspecies, which was considered a separate species by Boulenger in 1890. KKS believe it to be a subspecies of S. scincus. It differs in having 24-26 dorsal rows and a much darker dorsal colour (dark olive brown), on which the 5-6 transverse yellow-grey bars are actually paler (a reverse of the normal coloration for S. scincus).
S. s. conirostris   Iraq, parts of Arabian peninsula   The Bartletts note that in external features this subspecies is very similar to S. mitranus.
S. s. cucullatus   NW Libya, Tunisia, NE Algeria   Mentioned by EMBL database entry but apparently not recognised by some authorities. The University of Michigan has 2 syntypes of this subspecies which seem to have been recorded at the time as "Scincus officinalis cucullatus". Coloration: the diagram of dorsal patterns in KKS show three possible variations for this subspecies. (a) the transversal bars may be present, and with a darker (densely speckled?) area on the dorsum: (b) the transverse bars may be present but partially broken: (c) the transverse bars may be present but very much fainter.
S. s. laterimaculatus   NW Algeria, Morocco    Can be distinguished from S. s. scincus by the lack of transversal bars on the back: these appear on the sides only (see diagram in KKS).
S. s. meccensis Sand Skink S Jordan, NW & W Saudi Arabia    Apparently similar ecology to the N African subspecies: see the "Family Scincidae" at the Reptiles section of the Jordanian biodiversity website.

Bibliography

Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa, W Kästle, H H Schleich and K Kabisch, Koeltz Scientific Books, Germany 1996. Outstanding review of N African herpetofauna giving detailed account of each species. Please note I have not included all the details from this book here: in particular KKS have some useful details on the herpetological communities (ie sympatric species).

Lizard Care from A to Z, R D and Patricia Bartlett, Barron's Pet Series, New York 1997. Very helpful section on the care and maintenance of Scincus species with a few extra taxonomic details.

Skinks, Jerry G Walls, TFH 1996, has some basic guidelines for the care and maintenance of Scincus species.

Links

None found so far.


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