Chalcides minutus

Chalcides minutus
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Chalcides
Species:	C. minutus
Binomial name
	Chalcides minutus; Caputo, 1993

Chalcides minutus, or the small three-toed skink, is a species of skink found in Morocco and western Algeria. Its numbers are declining, but it is locally common. It is most often found in damp, sunny forests or grasslands with thick vegetation, but it can also be found in relatively dry areas, and its population is most likely decreasing. It is threatened by overgrazing and habitat destruction due to encroaching agricultural interests. Females of the species give birth to live young through ovoviviparity. Recent molecular studies have revealed that C. minutus could be a composite of species with individuals from the type locality forming long independent lineage and the remaining most closely related to Chalcides mertensi. [1][2]

References

Carranza, S.; Arnold, E. N.; Geniez, Ph; Roca, J.; Mateo, J. A. (March 2008). "Radiation, multiple dispersal and parallelism in the skinks, Chalcides and Sphenops (Squamata: Scincidae), with comments on Scincus and Scincopus and the age of the Sahara Desert". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 46 (3): 1071–1094. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.11.018. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 18276164.
Montero-Mendieta, S.; Ferrer, J.; Ait Hammou, M.; Dahmani, W.; Sanuy, D.; Camarasa, S. (2017-01-30). "Another record or a new taxon? A candidate species of Chalcides Laurenti, 1768, in North Africa (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae)". Herpetozoa. 29: 155–161.

Miras, J.A.M. (2005). "Chalcides minutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2005. Retrieved 12 April 2007.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)old-form url Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is vulnerable

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[1] Carranza, S.; Arnold, E. N.; Geniez, Ph; Roca, J.; Mateo, J. A. (March 2008). "Radiation, multiple dispersal and parallelism in the skinks, Chalcides and Sphenops (Squamata: Scincidae), with comments on Scincus and Scincopus and the age of the Sahara Desert". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 46 (3): 1071–1094. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.11.018. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 18276164.

[2] Montero-Mendieta, S.; Ferrer, J.; Ait Hammou, M.; Dahmani, W.; Sanuy, D.; Camarasa, S. (2017-01-30). "Another record or a new taxon? A candidate species of Chalcides Laurenti, 1768, in North Africa (Squamata: Sauria: Scincidae)". Herpetozoa. 29: 155–161.