''Scincus'' 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 ...

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Scincidae. The genus contains four or five species, all of which are typical desert inhabitants, living in sandy and dune-like areas with a hot and dry climate. Species in the genus ''Scincus'' can be found from

Arabia 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. ...

to the

Sahara desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

Taxonomy

''Scincus'' is the type genus of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Scincinae Scincinae is a subfamily of lizards. The subfamily contains 33 genera, and the genera contain a combined total of 284 species, commonly called skinks. The systematics is at times controversial. The group is probably paraphyletic. It is one of thr ...

. As the subfamily Scincinae appears to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

and is in need of revision, it is as yet undetermined which skink genera are closely enough related to ''Scincus'' to be retained in the Scincinae. (Austin & Arnold 2006).

Species

The genus ''Scincus'' contains five species which are recognized as being valid."''Scincus'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *''

Scincus albifasciatus ''Scincus albifasciatus'' is a species of lizard which is found in Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria, and Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Afric ...

'' *''

Scincus conirostris ''Scincus conirostris'', the sandfish skink, is a species of lizard which is found in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْم� ...

'' – sandfish skink *''

Scincus hemprichii ''Scincus hemprichii'' is a species of lizard which is endemic to Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsu ...

'' *''

Scincus mitranus ''Scincus'' is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus contains four or five species, all of which are typical desert inhabitants, living in sandy and dune-like areas with a hot and dry climate. Species in the genus ''Scinc ...

'' – eastern sandfish or eastern skink *''

Scincus scincus ''Scincus scincus'', also commonly known as the sandfish skink, common sandfish or common skink, is a species of skink notable for its burrowing or swimming behaviour in sand. It is native to the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula, but is ...

'' – common sandfish or common skink ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Scincus''.

Taxonomy

Species

References

Further reading