Scincus

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = ''Scincus'' | image = Apothekerskink01.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Scincus scincus]]'', common skink or common sandfish | taxon = Scincus | authority = [[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti]], 1768 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = Five, see text. }}

'''''Scincus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[skink]]s, [[lizards]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] Scincidae. The genus contains four or five species, all of which are typical desert inhabitants, living in sandy and dune-like areas with a hot and dry climate. Species in the genus ''Scincus'' can be found from [[Arabia]] to the [[Sahara desert]].

==Taxonomy== ''Scincus'' is the [[type (biology)|type]] genus of the [[subfamily]] [[Scincinae]]. As the subfamily Scincinae appears to be [[paraphyletic]] and is in need of revision, it is as yet undetermined which skink genera are closely enough related to ''Scincus'' to be retained in the Scincinae. (Austin & Arnold 2006).

==Species== The genus ''Scincus'' contains five species which are recognized as being valid.<ref>"''Scincus'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Image !Species !Common name |- |[[File:Scincus albifasciatus laterimaculatus (cropped).jpg|frameless]] |''[[Scincus albifasciatus]]'' {{small|[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1890}} |White-banded sandfish |- |[[File:Scincus conirostris (cropped).jpg|frameless]] |''[[Scincus conirostris]]'' {{small|([[William Thomas Blanford|Blanford]], 1881)}} |Iranian sandfish |- | |''[[Scincus hemprichii]]'' {{small|[[Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann|Wiegmann]], 1837}} |Hemprich's sandfish |- |[[File:Eastern sandfish.jpg|frameless]] |''[[Scincus mitranus]]'' {{small|[[John Anderson (zoologist)|Anderson]], 1871}} |Eastern sandfish |- |[[File:Scincus scincus, male 02 (cropped).jpg|frameless]] |''[[Scincus scincus]]'' {{small|([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)}} |Common sandfish |}''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Scincus''.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{aut|Austin, J.J. & [[:fr:Edwin Nicholas Arnold|Arnold, E.N.]]}} (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. <small>{{doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011}}</small> (HTML abstract).

[[Category:Scincus]] [[Category:Lizard genera]] [[Category:Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti]]