Ateuchosaurus chinensis

The Chinese short-limbed skink or Chinese ateuchosaurus (Ateuchosaurus chinensis) is a species of skink. It is found in China and Vietnam.[2]

Ateuchosaurus chinensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Ateuchosaurus
Species:
A. chinensis
Binomial name
Ateuchosaurus chinensis
JE Gray, 1845

Description
Small juvenile A. chinensis found at Lions Nature Education Center, Hong Kong.

The Chinese short-limbed skink has an elongated body, with a snout-vent length of 70-80 mm in females and 82-83.8 mm in males. The tail is longer than the body, but tends to be shorter in individuals with regenerated tails. This lizard has short, pentadactyl limbs, with the fingers and toes being widely separated when adpressed. The snout is short and obtuse. The animal has a brownish color with a cream or yellowish white underside, and black and white spots on its flanks.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This skink is endemic to Vietnam and southern and central China. In Vietnam, it was originally known only from Mau Son Mountains, Lạng Sơn province, but has also since been found in secondary forests in Bắc Giang province and Hà Giang province.[3] In China, it has been found in Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hong Kong, Hainan and Nan'ao Island.[4][5] It is a terrestrial animal which lives among leaf litter on the floor of secondary forests and mixed forests of bamboo and wooden trees.[3]

Behavior

Diet

The Chinese short-limbed skink is insectivorous. Remains of an acridid grasshopper were found within a female skink collected at Huanghua Shan Reservoir, Nan'ao Island, and a male collected at the same location contained orthopteran eggs.[5]

Reproduction

This skink is oviparous, laying several eggs per clutch. It is hypothesized to spend the monsoonal season yolking up eggs which hatch late in the season, and if so, females probably do not lay eggs until reaching around 23 months of age.[5] In Vietnam, the species probably lays eggs from June to September, during the rainy season.[3]

Research

The complete mitochondrial DNA of the Chinese short-limbed skink has been determined via next-generation sequencing, extracted from the muscle tissue of a specimen captured in Mingxi County. The length of the complete mtDNA was 16,840 bp, containing 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and a control region (D-loop).[6]

References
  1. Nguyen, T.Q.; Nguyen, N.S.; Wang, Y.; Yang, J. (2019). "Ateuchosaurus chinensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T96250633A96250639. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T96250633A96250639.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Ateuchosaurus chinensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 October 2020.
  3. Nguyen, Truong; Tung, T. T.; Ngoc, H. Van; Böhme, Wolfgang (January 2008). "Rediscovery and redescription of Ateuchosaurus chinensis Gray, 1845 (squamata: Sauria: Scincidae) from northeastern Vietnam". Herpetology Notes. 1 (1): 17–21.
  4. Karsen, Stephen J; Lau, Michael Wai-Neng; Bogadek, Anthony (January 1998). Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles (2nd ed.). Provisional Urban Council Hong Kong. pp. 1–186. ISBN 9789627849056.
  5. Lazell, James; Kolby, Jonathan; Lin, Yong-Mu; Zhuang, Dong-Hong; Lu, Wenhua (1999). "Reptiles and amphibians from Nan Ao Island, China". Postilla. 217: 3–18. ISSN 0079-4295.
  6. Zhong, Jun-Jie; Wu, Qian-Qian; Wang, Yan-Mei; Guo, Kun; Ding, Guo-Hua; Luo, Si-Te (2021-03-04). "The first complete mitochondrial DNA of the Chinese short-limbed skink (Ateuchosaurus chinensis Gray, 1845) determined by next-generation sequencing". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 6 (3): 995–996. doi:10.1080/23802359.2021.1891987. ISSN 2380-2359. PMC 7995868. PMID 33796713.
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