General Skink Information

Scincidae constitutes the largest and most widely distributed family of lizards. Despite this abundance however, the skink family is one of the least understood. Great differences in opinion exists regarding the exact classification within the family, with the largest number of genera outlined being around sixty, and the largest number of species at more than six hundred (Pope 1955). This problem is compounded by the lack of a fossil record and knowledge about their ancestry. Two physical characters define the skink family. These are the characteristic "flat, rounded, overlapping scales generally of more or less equal size over all the body" and "osteoderms within the scales". The skink eyelid is well developed and the skink head possesses "large regular plates". Skinks do not have femoral pores (Smith 1971).

Skinks have developed many methods of locomotion. Most distinct however is the large number of species with either reduced or no limbs. In both cases, limb-supporting bones (hip and shoulder girdles) still exist in the creatures. Usually, the loss of limbs is indicative of a fossorial existence. Particularly interesting within these types of skinks are the sand skinks (Scincus) which, because of their limb reduction and other feattures like toe fringes, wedge-shaped snouts, and "countersunk lower jaws", are able to swim through the sandy medium with relative ease. Other types of skinks include the aquatic, or water-loving skinks (Tropidophorus), and the more normal forest floor dwelling species. The three widely ranging groups of skins are those in the genuses Mabuya, Lygosoma, and Eumeces. Mabuya consists of eighty-five species, its range covering from southern Mexico through South America, Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia, the Philippines, New Guinea, the West Indies, and the Malay Archipelago. Lygosoma consists of all those not in Mabuya or Eumeces. It has since been broken down into smaller groups. Skinks in general bear their youth live though exceptions exist, particular in Eumeces (Pope 1955).

Eumeces

The Eumeces genus within the large Scincidae family is characterized by several features. The genus is ditributed in both the Old and New Worlds, including southeastern and southwestern Asia, northern Africa, the Bermuda Islands, and southern Canada to Panama. The genus possesses four general characters that separate it from other skinks: (1) conical, pleurodont teeth; (2) scaly nature of the eyelids; (3) lack of a partially transparent disk accompanying the eyelid;(4) the separation of definitely the pterygoid bones and usually the palatine bones on the median line of the palate. The fourth feature distinguishes Eumeces from Mabuya. In the U.S., the genus is represented by nineteen species and subspecies. Most are terrestrial, though arboreal and fossorial forms do exist. Contrary to the general trend in the Scincidae family, all the U.S. species lay eggs, while a few Mexican species give birth to live young. In addition egg brooding behavior is exhibited in some species of Eumeces. All the U.S. forms of the genus are carnivorous and diurnal, with larger species feeding on small vertebrates including young of their own kind (Smith 1971).

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
            Phylum Chordata
                        sub-phylum Vertebrata
                                    Class Reptilia
                                                Order Squamata
                                                            sub-order Sauria
                                                                        Family Scincidae
                                                                                    Genus Eumeces
                                                                                                Species fasciatus

The five-lined skink was described first by Linnaeus in 1758. It remains one of the most common and widespread lizards in the United States.

The technical taxonomic information is:
Eumeces fasciatus (LINNAEUS, 1758: 209)
Eumeces fasciatus - CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 128

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