Mochlus

Mochlus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to Africa.

Mochlus
Sundevall's writhing skink
(Mochlus s. sundevallii )
in the Soutpansberg, South Africa.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Lygosominae
Genus: Mochlus
Günther, 1864

Description

Skinks of the genus Mochlus are cylindrical in shape and robust. They get the common name "writhing skinks" from the side-to-side movement that they make when held in the hand.[1]

Diet

Skinks in the genus Mochlus feed on insects and millipedes.[1]

Species

The following 18 species are recognized as being valid.[2]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Mochlus.

References

  1. Alexander, Graham; Marais, Johan (2008). A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers. 408 pp. ISBN 978-1-77007-386-9. ("Writhing Skinks", pp. 247-248).
  2. Genus Mochlus at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lygosoma mocquardi, p. 181).

Further reading

Günther A (1864). "Report on a Collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by Dr. Kirk in the Zambesi and Nyassa Regions". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864: 303–314. (Mochlus, new genus, p. 308).


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