''Eutropis carinata'', commonly known as the keeled Indian mabuya, many-keeled grass skink or (ambiguously) "golden 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
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.;;;;;;;; ...
.
Description
Body robust; snout moderate, obtuse. Lower eyelids scaly; vertebral scales smooth. Ear-opening roundish, sub-triangular. Brown to olive or bronze in color above, uniform or with dark-brown or black spots, or longitudinal streaks along the lateral margins of the scales. Sides are dark-brown or chestnut, with or without light spots. A light dorso-lateral line starting from above the eye and continued to the base of the tail. Lower parts whitish or yellowish. Maximum length: 37 cm. and Common length: 25, in which Snout-vent length is 9 cm.
The Sri Lankan ''lankae'' is now treated as a full species,
Eutropis lankae.
Distribution
Frequently found in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(except in the North-West),
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, &
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and Possibly in
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
.
Ecology
Habitat
Diurnal, and terrestrial, frequently seen basking or foraging in open areas.
Diet
Crickets, caterpillars, beetles, and earthworms and even small vertebrates are known to be consumed.
Reproduction
Oviparous; clutches of 2-20 eggs are laid at a time in a self-excavated hole or under fallen logs, between August and September. Eggs are measuring 11 * 17 mm. Hatchlings emerge between May and June, measure 12–12.5 mm.
The male reproductive cycle in Mysore, (southern India),is characterized by peak testicular size and maximum spermatogenic activity and steroidogenic activity during Oct-November which coincides with the female reproductive cycle generally in the dry, post- rainy season of the year.
[Shivanandappa T and Sarkar HBD, 1979, Gen. Comp.Endocrinol., 38:491-495; Saidapur SK (ed) Reproductive cycles of Indian vertebrates, 1989, pages 225–272, Allied Publ. New Delhi]
References
* Gray, J. E. 1846 Descriptions of some new species of Indian Lizards. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1)18: 429-430
* Smith, M.A. 1935 Reptiles and Amphibia, Vol. II. in: The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Taylor and Francis, London, 440 pp.
Eutropis
Reptiles of Nepal
Reptiles of India
Reptiles described in 1801
Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider
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