''Eurylepis taeniolata'', the ribbon-sided skink, alpine Punjab skink, or yellow-bellied mole 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

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

, and

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus ''Eurylepis''.

Description

Diagnosis of the genus ''Eurylepis'' (Griffith et al. 2000): Elongate, 35 or more presacral vertebrae (convergent with many other scincid groups). Limbs relatively slender, lamellae not expanded. Head somewhat conical, dorsal surface convex in lateral view, parietal bone with clear lateral indentations and supratemporal fontanelle open. Sexual dimorphism in head proportions not distinct. Scales shiny, separated by shallow sutures. Two loreals, followed by two presuboculars. Post-nasal scales present. Palpebral scales and superciliaries not separated by groove. Four or five pairs of nuchal scales, followed by several pairs of broadened mid-dorsal scales and broad row of fused mid-dorsal scales. Large medial preanal scales overlie small lateral pair. Ear lobules conspicuous, but not covering ear opening. Color pattern consists of gray-brown background, with pale, broad dorsolateral stripes, more distinct anteriorly, brown rectangular spots dominating posteriorly.

Distribution

''Eurylepis taeniolata'' is found in Jordan, the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

(NW/W Saudi Arabia, southern Yemen), Iraq, northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, western and northern India (Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir), and southern Turkmenistan.

Subspecies

There are three

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

References

* Blyth, E. 1854 J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 23: 470 * Griffith, H., A. Ngo & R. W. Murphy 2000 A cladistic evaluation of the cosmopolitan genus ''Eumeces'' Wiegmann (Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 7 (1): 1-16 * Schmitz, Andreas; Patrick Mausfeld and Dirk Embert 2004 Molecular studies on the genus ''Eumeces'' Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications. Hamadryad 28 (1-2): 73 - 89 * Shcherbak N N. 1990 Systematics and geographic variability of ''Eumeces taeniolatus'' Sauria Scincidae n Russian Vestnik Zoologii. 1990. no. 3, pp. 33–40. * Taylor, E. H. 1936 A taxonomic study of the cosmopolitan lizards of the genus ''Eumeces'' with an account of the distribution and relationship of its species. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 23 (14): 1-643

935 Year 935 ( CMXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Arnulf I ("the Bad") of Bavaria invades Italy, crossing through the Upper ...

Eurylepis Reptiles of the Arabian Peninsula Reptiles of Central Asia Reptiles of the Middle East Reptiles of Afghanistan Reptiles of Iran Reptiles of Iraq Reptiles of India Reptiles of Pakistan Reptiles described in 1854 Taxa named by Edward Blyth {{skink-stub