top of page

Lizards of Zihuatanejo

SUBORDER​ SAURIA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Reptiles (Class Reptilia)

-​Snakes and Lizards (Order Squamata)

-Lizards (Suborder​ Sauria)

-​Skinks (Family Scincidae)

-Mabuyas (Subfamily Mabuyinae)

-Genus Marisora

-Southern Sierra Madre Skink (Marisora aquilonaria)


The Southern Sierra Madre Skink is found in Mexico. Its diet consists of a variety of insects and other small invertebrates. It inhabits humid forests and is usually found under rocks and logs. This skink has a greyish-brown to light brown base color, with dark spots and stripes running along its body and tail. Its head and tail are a dark brown color, and its underside is a creamy-white.

Southern Sierra Madre Skink

Marisora aquilonaria

Description

  • Marisora aquilonaria is a small, slender skink in the family Scincidae. It has a smooth, shiny body, short limbs, a relatively long tail, and small overlapping scales. Adults are generally brown, bronze, or olive-brown above with a paler underside, giving them a subdued appearance suited to life among leaf litter and vegetation.

Range

  • Marisora aquilonaria is a Central American skink occurring from southern Mexico through parts of Central America. Its Mexican range includes the Pacific slope and southern states, including Guerrero, and it may be encountered around Zihuatanejo in suitable habitat.

Habitat

  • It inhabits tropical and subtropical forest, dry forest, woodland edges, dense scrub, leaf litter, and other areas with abundant ground cover and surface moisture. It is primarily terrestrial but may climb through low vegetation and commonly shelters beneath leaves, logs, rocks, and other debris.

Diet

  • Marisora aquilonaria is primarily insectivorous, feeding on small insects, spiders, and other terrestrial arthropods found among leaf litter and low vegetation. Its diet may also include other small invertebrates encountered while foraging.

bottom of page