''Chalcides bedriagai'', commonly known as Bedriaga's skink, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scincidae. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. It usually lives in sandy areas with sparse vegetation and good ground cover. It can also live in open woodland and burrow into loose soil. Females of the species give birth to live young. This skink is active during day and dusk, and it is very timid. It may reach about in total length (including tail), and it has five digits on each foot. It preys on

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

spiders Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species di ...

slugs Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a sma ...

, and

woodlice Woodlice are terrestrial isopods in the suborder Oniscidea. Their name is derived from being often found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects. Woodlice evolved from marine isopods ...

Etymology

Both the specific name, ''bedriagai'', and the common name, Bedriaga's skink, are in honor of Russian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Jacques von Bedriaga Jacques Vladimir von Bedriaga, sometimes Bedryagha (Russian language, Russian: Яков Владимирович Бедряга; 1854 - 1906) was a Russian herpetologist who was a native of Kriniz, a village near Voronezh. In scientific papers Be ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Chalcides bedriagai'', p. 21).

Description

Bedriaga's skink resembles a scaled-down version of the ocellated skink (''Chalcides ocellatus)''. It has a small head, an elongated cylindrical body and short limbs with five digits on each foot. It measures up to in total length, at least half of which may be the fairly broad tail. Females are usually larger than males, and in both sexes the tail may sometimes be broken off or in the process of regeneration. There are 24 to 28 scales around the mid-body. The colour is pale brown, yellowish-brown, or grey, with numerous small black-edged eyespots and usually a paler lateral line running along either side. Juveniles are a darker colour.

Geographic range and habitat

Bedriaga's skink is native to Spain and Portugal. It is largely absent from northern Spain and its distribution is rather patchy elsewhere. It also occurs on the Mediterranean islands of the Islas del Mar Menor and the Isla de Nueva Tabarca and the Atlantic islands of Cies Islands, Pessegueiro Island,

Ons Island The Ons Island (; ) is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park. Situated in the Pontevedra estuary, it is celebrated for its breathtaking landscapes, rich gastronomy, and cultural significance. Ons belongs administratively to the mu ...

and

Islote de Sancti Petri The Islote de Sancti Petri is a small barren island belonging to the municipality of San Fernando, Cádiz in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous region of Andalucia, Andalusia, Spain. It is close to the coast and south of Cadiz city. For m ...

. Its typical

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is sandy heathland with scrubby vegetation or sandy areas with more dense vegetation. It also occurs in open woodland, clearings, scrubland areas and rocky hillside slopes up to an altitude of about above sea level. It can adapt to living in moderately degraded areas.

Subspecies

There are three subspecies:

Behaviour

Bedriaga's skink is a diurnal species and feeds on a wide range of small invertebrates. It has secretive habits and likes to bask in the sun in well-hidden locations. When disturbed it seeks cover in dense undergrowth or under ground, and it can burrow very quickly through loose soil. At breeding time, males become

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

and often fight. Females may mate with more than one male and are

viviparous In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...

. The

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

period is about eleven weeks after which one to six young are born. The newly emerged juveniles are about long.

Status

Major threats to this species, ''C. bedriagai'', include modification of its habitat by increased afforestation or coastal development, and increases in the population of the

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

(''Sus scrofa'') may have an impact. The population of this skink is believed to be in decline, especially in some island populations, and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has listed it as being "

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

References

External links

*Photos and inf

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1305769 Chalcides Endemic reptiles of the Iberian Peninsula Reptiles described in 1880 Taxa named by Eduardo Boscá