Ablepharus
Encyclopedia
The skink
genus
Ablepharus contains the common snake-eyed skinks. Their name refers to the fact that their eyelid
s have fused to a translucent capsule; like snake
s, they thus cannot blink.
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Ablepharus contains the common snake-eyed skinks. Their name refers to the fact that their eyelid
Eyelid
An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. With the exception of the prepuce and the labia minora, it has the thinnest skin of the whole body. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid to "open" the eye. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily...
s have fused to a translucent capsule; like snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, they thus cannot blink.
Species
- Twin-striped SkinkTwin-striped SkinkThe twin-striped skink is a skink native to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, northwestern Iran and Turkey. It is generally found at elevations between 2300 and 3300 m. The lindbergi subspecies is restricted to western Afghanistan....
(Ablepharus bivittatus) - Budak's Snake-eyed Skink (Ablepharus budaki)
- Chernov's SkinkChernov's SkinkChernov's Skink is a species of skink native to Armenia, eastern Turkey, northern Syria and the valleys of the Arax River, Zanga River and Razden Rivers in the Caucasus.This species is named in honour of Alexandrovich Chernov....
(Ablepharus chernovi) - Ablepharus darvaziAblepharus darvaziAblepharus darvazi is a species of skink that is only known from Tajikistan....
- Desert Lidless SkinkDesert Lidless SkinkThe desert lidless skink is a species of skink native to southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, northern Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan and eastern Turkmenistan....
(Ablepharus deserti) - Minor Snake-eyed Skink (Ablepharus grayanus)
- European Snake-eyed Skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii)
- Asian Snake-eyed Skink (Ablepharus pannonicus)
- Rüppell's Snake-eyed Skink (Ablepharus rueppellii)