Western Three-toed Skink

About the Western Three-toed Skink

The western three-toed skink (Chalcides striatus) is a species of lizard with tiny legs in the family Scincidae. It is found in the Iberian Peninsula, southern France and parts of northwestern Italy. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, sandy shores, arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens. It was first described 1829 by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. The generic name comes from the Greek "chalcides" meaning 'copper' and the specific name is derived from the Latin "striatus" meaning 'streak'.

This skink superficially looks like a snake except for the presence of two pairs of tiny, three-toed limbs. It has a small head and thick neck and grows to a length of about 43 cm (17 in). It is smooth and glossy, with a silvery or bronze colour with about ten slender longitudinal dark lines running along the body. The head is usually darker than the body. It can be distinguished from the very similar Italian three-toed skink (Chalcides chalcides) by the fact that its limbs are slightly larger than that species and the three toes of the hind feet are all the same length. Wikipedia →