''Ablepharus rueppellii'', known commonly as Rüppell's snake-eyed skink, is a species of

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

found in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. It was formerly considered a subspecies of ''

Ablepharus kitaibelii ''Ablepharus kitaibelii'', commonly known as the European copper skink, European snake-eyed skink, juniper skink, or snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Eastern Europe and Southwe ...

'', but has since been distinguished. What is currently recognized as this species is possibly two distinct species.

Range

It is found throughout north and central Israel, Lebanon, western Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It also possibly lives in Syria, though this is also unconfirmed. In the areas where it can be found, it is generally uncommon. It is found in the leaf litter of forested or shrubby areas, and in Egypt, it is usually found near oases. It is highly localized in densely vegetated areas. In Israel, the species is common and can be found in cities. It is one of the few reptiles capable of living in areas afforested with

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

(these are very widespread in Israel). Ablepharus Rueppellii (young)

Possible threats

Few threats exist to the species as a whole, though

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and loss of traditionally farmed orchards may affect specific populations. The species is protected by legislation in Israel.

References

*Gray, J.E. 1839. Catalogue of the slender-tongued saurians, with descriptions of many new genera and species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1)2: 331–337 (287–293) *Lymberakis, P. and Kalionzopoulou, A. 2003
Additions to the herpetofauna of Syria.
''Zoology in the Middle East'' 29: 33–39. *Schmidtler, J.F. 1997
Die ''Ablepharus kitaibelii'' - Gruppe in Süd-Anatolien und benachbarten Gebieten (Squamata: Sauria: Scinidae).
''Herpetozoa'' 10(1/2):35-63 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2821670 Ablepharus Reptiles described in 1839 Reptiles of Western Asia Fauna of the Middle East Taxa named by John Edward Gray

Range

Possible threats

References

Further reading