''Spondylurus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scincidae. The genus ''Spondylurus'', vernacularly known as the Antillean four-lined skinks, is a neotropical

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 ...

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

including many

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), ...

Description

Species in the genus ''Spondylurus'' are characterized by four (occasionally three to six) dark dorsolateral stripes. This characteristic is known to fade in older individuals, and colors in preservative shift from tans and browns to greens and blues, often causing confusion as to the true color in life.

Conservation status

Many of the species of ''Spondylurus'' are extinct or

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, resulting from invasive predators such as the

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

Geographic range

The genus ''Spondylurus'' is distributed throughout the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

including the Caicos Islands,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, and the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

Species list

The following 17 species are recognized as being valid, of which seven are considered "possibly extinct": www.reptile-database.org. *'' Spondylurus anegadae'' – Anegada skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus caicosae'' – Caicos Islands skink *'' Spondylurus culebrae'' – Culebra skink *'' Spondylurus fulgidus'' – Jamaican skink *'' Spondylurus haitiae'' – Hispaniolan four-lined skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus lineolatus'' – Hispaniolan ten-lined skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus macleani'' – Carrot Rock skink, slippery back *'' Spondylurus magnacruzae'' – greater Saint Croix skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus martinae'' – Saint Martin skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus monae'' – Mona skink *'' Spondylurus monitae'' – Monito skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus nitidus'' – Puerto Rican skink *'' Spondylurus powelli'' – Anguilla Bank skink *'' Spondylurus semitaeniatus'' – Lesser Virgin Islands skink *'' Spondylurus sloanii'' – Virgin Islands bronze skink *'' Spondylurus spilonotus'' – Greater Virgin Islands skink (possibly extinct) *'' Spondylurus turksae'' – Turks Islands skink ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Spondylurus''.

Description

Conservation status

Geographic range

Species list

References

Further reading