Plestiodon

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Plestiodon
Plestiodon fasciatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Lacertilia
Infraorder: Scincomorpha
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Plestiodon
A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839

Plestiodon is the name for a genus of lizards formerly referred to as Eumeces, except those now placed in Mesoscincus.

The genus Plestiodon are skinks (family Scincidae). They are secretive, agile animals with a cylindrical body covered with smooth, shiny scales.

Defensive mechanism

The conspicuous coloring is a survival trait: it attracts a predator's attention to the tail of the animal, which will break off when grabbed. A skink thus often manages to escape and hide under some rock, log, or fallen leaves while the predator still contemplates the wildly thrashing severed tail. (This is an instance of what is called autotomy: voluntarily shedding a body part in order to escape, and later regenerating the body part.) After the tail regenerates, it usually has the same color as the rest of the body and is typically shorter than the original tail. In some species, regrown tails are pinkish. A regrown tail has a cartilaginous rod for support instead of vertebrae.

Reproduction

Plestiodon are all oviparous. The female lays eggs once a year after the breeding season in spring. The clutch size varies and is typically around 5 to 10 eggs. The hatchlings appear in late summer.

Thermoregulation

Like other reptiles, these skinks are "cold-blooded" — they are ectothermic animals: their metabolism cannot regulate their body temperature. To warm up, they often bask in the sun. In colder climates, they hibernate in winter in burrows below the frost line. In hot climates, they are active mainly in the morning and evening, staying under cover during the hottest hours of the day to avoid overheating.

Systematics

Recently two taxonomic revisions have been made regarding the 19th century genus Eumeces. They both resulted in similar results; the genus is paraphyletic and must be "sliced up" into several different genera. Griffith et al. (2000) proposed that the type species for Eumeces, E. pavimentatus, which is considered by many to be a subspecies of Eumeces schneideri, should be changed to Lacerta fasciata, so that the genus name Eumeces would stay with the most species-rich clade. However this petition has not been verified by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Schimtz et al. argued that Griffith et al. violated the Code and rejected the proposal on good grounds. Thus only the African species of the Eumeces schneideri group still belong to the genus Eumeces.

Within Eumeces the following species are recognized:

Some species that were formerly considered Eumeces have now been assigned to new genera:

Now in Plestiodon:

  • Plestiodon anthracinus, coal skink
  • Plestiodon barbouri, Barbour's skink (Japan)
  • Plestiodon brevirostris, short-nosed skink (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon callicephalus, mountain skink
  • Plestiodon capito
  • Plestiodon chinensis, Chinese skink (East Asia: China, Korea, Japan)
  • Plestiodon colimensis (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon copei (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon coreensis, Korean skink (Korea)
  • Plestiodon dugesii, Duges' skink (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon egregius, mole skink
  • Plestiodon elegans, five-striped blue-tailed skink or Shanghai skink (East Asia)
  • Plestiodon fasciatus, common five-lined skink
  • Plestiodon gilberti, Gilbert's skink (North America)
  • Plestiodon inexpectatus, southeastern five-lined skink
  • Plestiodon japonicus, Japanese five-lined skink (Japan)
  • Plestiodon kishinouyei, Kishinouye's giant skink
  • Plestiodon lagunensis, San Lucan skink
  • Plestiodon laticeps, broad-headed skink
  • Plestiodon latiscutatus, Okada's five-lined skink (Japan)
  • Plestiodon liui (Asia)
  • Plestiodon longirostris, Bermuda rock skink
  • Plestiodon lynxe, oak forest skink (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon marginatus, Ryūkyū five-lined skink (Okinawa and Amami Islands)
  • Plestiodon multilineatus
  • Plestiodon multivirgatus, many-lined skink
    • Plestiodon (multivirgatus) gaigeae, variable skink (North America) - sometimes Eumeces (multivirgatus) epipleurotus
  • Plestiodon obsoletus, Great Plains skink
  • Plestiodon ochoterenae
  • Plestiodon parviauriculatus, northern pygmy skink (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon parvulus, southern pygmy skink (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon popei (Asia)
  • Plestiodon quadrilineatus, four-lined Asian skink
  • Plestiodon septentrionalis, prairie skink - includes Eumeces obtusirostris
  • Plestiodon skiltonianus, western skink
  • Plestiodon stimpsonii, Yaeyama seven-lined skink (Japan)
  • Plestiodon sumichrasti (Mexico)
  • Plestiodon tamdaoensis
  • Plestiodon tetragrammus, four-lined skink
  • Plestiodon tunganus

Now in Eurylepis:

Now in Mesoscincus:

  • Eumeces altamirani - now Mesoscincus altamirani
  • Eumeces managuae - now Mesoscincus managuae
  • Eumeces schwartzei - now Mesoscincus schwartzei

References

  • Austin, J.J., and E.N. Arnold (2006). Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract)
  • Griffith, H., A. Ngo and R.W. Murphy (2000). A cladistic evaluation of the cosmopolitan genus Eumeces Wiegmann (Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 7 (1): 1-16.
  • Schmitz, Andreas, Patrick Mausfeld and Dirk Embert. (2004). Molecular studies on the genus Eumeces Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications. Hamadryad 28 (1-2): 73–89.
  • Smith, H.M. (2005). Plestiodon: a Replacement Name for Most Members of the Genus Eumeces in North America. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (14): 15-16.
  • Brandley, M.C., A. Schmitz and T.W. Reeder (2005). Partitioned Bayesian analyses, partition choice, and the phylogenetic relationships of Scincid lizards. Systematic Biology 54 (3): 373-390.
  • Okamoto, Taku, Junko Motokawa, Mamoru Toda and Tsutomu Hikida (2006). Parapatric distribution of the lizards, Plestiodon (formerly Eumeces) latiscutatus and P. japonicus (Reptilia: Scincidae) around the Izu Peninsula, central Japan, and its biogeographic implications. Zoological Science 23: 419-425.
  • Motokawa, Junko, and Tsutomu Hikida (2003). Genetic variation and differentiation in the Japanese five-lined skink, Eumeces latiscutatus (Reptile: Squamata). Zoological Science 20: 97-106.

External links

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