''Eumeces algeriensis'', commonly called the Algerian skink, Algerian orange-tailed skink,
Berber's skink,
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Berber's Skink ''Eumeces algeriensis''", p. 23).] in
French ''eumece d'Algérie'', or in
Spanish ''bulán'', is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
skink
Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...
in the
family Scincidae.
The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Maghreb region of
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
.
Geographic range
''E. algeriensis'' is found in
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
and
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
(including the
Spanish exclave
Melilla).
Habitat
The natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s of ''E. algeriensis'' are temperate
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
, sandy shores,
arable land, pastureland,
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
s, and rural gardens.
[Geniez P et al. (2009]
''Eumeces algeriensis''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Downloaded on 15 April 2015.
Reproduction
''E. algeriensis'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.
References
Further reading
*
Boulenger GA (1887). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (''Eumeces algeriensis'', pp. 384–385).
*Caputo V, Odierna G, Aprea G, Capriglione T (1993). "''Eumeces algeriensis'' - a full species of the ''Eumeces schneiderii'' group (Scincidae) - karyological and morphological evidence". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 14 (2): 187–193.
*Griffith H, Ngo A, Murphy RW (2000). "A cladistic evaluation of the cosmopolitan genus ''Eumeces'' Wiegmann (Reptilia, Squamata, Scincidae)". ''Russ. J. Herpetol.'' 7 (1): 1–16
*
Wilhelm Peters, Peters W (1864). "''Die Eidechsenfamilie der Scincoiden, insbesondere über die Schneider'schen, Wiegmann'schen und neue Arten des zoologischen Museums''". ''Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin'' 1864: 44–58. (''Eumeces pavimentatus'' var. ''algeriensis'', new species, p. 49). (in German).
*Schleich HH, Kästle W, Kabisch K (1996). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa''. Koenigstein, Germany: Koeltz. 627 pp.
*
Schmitz, Andreas; Mausfeld, Patrick; Embert, Dirk (2004). "Molecular studies on the genus ''Eumeces'' Wiegmann, 1834: phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic implications". ''Hamadryad'' 28 (1-2): 73–89.
External links
Picture of ''Eumeces algeriensis''Picture of ''Eumeces schneideri''
Eumeces
Skinks of Africa
Reptiles described in 1864
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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