Gilbert's skink
| Gilbert's skink | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Lacertilia |
| Infraorder: | Scincomorpha |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Plestiodon |
| Species: | P. gilberti |
| Binomial name | |
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Plestiodon gilberti (Van Denburgh, 1896) |
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Plestiodon gilberti, Gilbert's skink, is a species of heavy-bodied medium-sized lizard of the family of skinks. It is endemic to the southwestern United States, and grows to about 7 to 12 cm (3 to 4.5 in) in total length.
Plestiodon gilberti was first described by Van Denburgh in 1896. It was named in honor of Van Denburgh's teacher, American ichthyologist Dr. Charles H. Gilbert (1859 - 1928), who at the time was a professor of zoology at Stanford University.
There are five subspecies of Plestiodon gilberti:
(P. g. placerensis got its name from Placer County, California, where it occurs.)
Together with the western skink (P. skiltonianus), the San Lucan skink (P. lagunensis), and the four-lined Asiatic skink (P. quadrilineatus), Gilbert's skink belongs to the so-called "skiltonianus group". The exact taxonomy within this group is being questioned and may need revision following DNA analysis research.
Gilbert's skink occurs mainly in California. It is found in the northern San Joaquin Valley, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada from Butte County southward, and along the inner flanks of the Coast Ranges from San Francisco Bay to the Mexican border and into northern Baja California. It is also found in the mountains of southern California, and at scattered mountain localities in the eastern desert from Mono County to San Bernardino County. Isolated populations also occur in western Arizona as well as in southern Nevada.
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Wikipedia