Lampropholis

Lampropholis, the Indo-Australian ground skinks or sunskinks, are a genus of skinks in the lizard subfamily Eugongylinae.[1] The genus Lampropholis was previously found to belong to a clade with the genera Niveoscincus, Leiolopisma and others of the Eugongylus group within Lygosominae.[2] They are found mainly in Indonesia and Australia. For similar skinks see genera Bassiana, Pseudemoia, and Niveoscincus.

Indo-Australian ground skinks
Lampropholis guichenoti,
common garden skink
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Eugongylinae
Genus: Lampropholis
Fitzinger, 1843
Species

14, see text

Diet

Garden skinks feed on larger invertebrates, including crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs and caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, chaparras, ladybeetles and many other small insects, which makes them a very helpful animal around the garden. They can also feed on fruit and vegetables, but the vegetables have to be cooked for the skink to be able to eat it. Skinks especially love bananas and strawberries etc. (no citrus fruit). Garden skinks rely purely on the movement of their prey when hunting. When hunting, the skinks will either hide and wait for prey to come by or actively pursue it (this depends on how hungry they are). Once they have caught their prey, they shake it around vigorously to kill it before swallowing it whole. Once they have had one meal, they begin to actively pursue prey for a short while with their newfound energy. Skinks only need one prey item per 4 or 5 days, thus, making it an ideal pet for small children. They can eat worms if you drain the soil out of them with salt water because worms are too high in soil for them.[3]

Species

The following 14 species are recognized.[4][5][6]

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

References
  1. Uetz, P.; Freed, P.; Hošek, J. (eds.). "Eugongylinae". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  2. Austin JJ, Arnold EN (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).
  3. Help skinks thrive in your garden. NSW Government, Australia
  4. Lampropholis, The Reptile Database.
  5. Wilson S, Swan G (2006). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Second Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishing. 512 pp. ISBN 978-1877069468.
  6. Wells RW (2002). "Some Taxonomic Changes to the Genus Lampropholis (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Australia" Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Biodiversity Record (8): 1-24.

Further reading
  • Fitzinger (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Lampropholis, new genus, p. 22). (in Latin).


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