''Pseudemoia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s native to southeastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. For similar skinks see

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

Bassiana ''Acritoscincus'' is a genus of Australian skinks (family Scincidae). It belongs to the ''Eugongylus'' group; the genus ''Oligosoma ''Oligosoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized skinks (family Scincidae) found only in New Zealand, Norfol ...

'', ''

Lampropholis ''Lampropholis'' is a genus of skinks, Common name, commonly known as sunskinks, in the lizard subfamily Eugongylinae of the Family (biology), family Scincidae. The genus ''Lampropholis'' was previously found to belong to a clade with the Genus, ...

'', and ''

Niveoscincus ''Carinascincus'' is a genus of skinks (family Scincidae), commonly called snow skinks or cool-skinks and residing mainly in Tasmania or Victoria, Australia. Then recognised as the genus ''Niveoscincus'', it was found to belong to a clade with ...

''.

Reproduction

At least in ''P. entrecasteauxii'', ''P. pagenstecheri'', and ''P. spenceri'', a

placenta The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mater ...

-like structure is formed during pregnancy to pass nutrients to the developing offspring. Similar

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

-like adaptations also occur in the skink genera '' Chalcides'', '' Eumecia'', ''

Mabuya ''Mabuya'' is a genus of long-tailed skinks restricted to species from various Caribbean islands. They are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is viviparous, having a highly evolved placenta that resembles that of eutheri ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Trachylepis ''Trachylepis'' is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the "wastebin taxon" ''Mabuya'', and for some time in '' Euprepis''. As defined today, ''Trachylepis'' contains the clade ...

''.

Species

Six

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are recognized. *''

Pseudemoia baudini ''Pseudemoia baudini'', also known commonly as Baudin's skink, Baudin's window-eyed skink, and the Bight Coast skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Etymology The specific name, ''baudini' ...

'' – Baudin's skink,Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Pseudemoia baudini'', p. 19). Bight Coast skink *''

Pseudemoia cryodroma ''Pseudemoia cryodroma'', also known commonly as the alpine bog skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Victoria in Australia. Habitat The preferred natural habitats of ''P. cryodroma'' are freshwater w ...

'' – alpine bog skink *''

Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii The southern grass skink (''Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii)'' is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia, where it is found in the south-east of the continent, as well as in Tasmania and the islands of Bass S ...

'' – southern grass skink, tussock cool-skink, tussock skink, Entrecasteaux's skink *'' Pseudemoia pagenstecheri'' – southern grass tussock skink, southern tussock grass skink *'' Pseudemoia rawlinsoni'' – Rawlinson's window-eyed skink *'' Pseudemoia spenceri'' – trunk-climbing cool-skink

Reproduction

Species

References

Further reading