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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

Diet

  • Primarily insectivorous, feeding on ants, termites, beetles, flies, spiders, mites, small caterpillars, and other tiny arthropods.

  • Also consumes insect larvae and other small invertebrates found in leaf litter.

  • Forages actively during the day, searching beneath logs, rocks, bark, and leaf litter.

Range

  • Native to western Mexico, occurring along the Pacific slope from southern Sinaloa through Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and into western Oaxaca.

  • Occurs throughout suitable habitat in the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn scrub, semi-deciduous forests, secondary forest, woodland edges, and coastal scrub.

  • Usually found beneath leaf litter, fallen logs, rocks, loose bark, and other ground cover in warm, humid microhabitats.

  • Most active during the day, especially after rain or during humid conditions.

Size

  • Total length: 12–18 cm (4.7–7.1 in)

  • Snout-to-vent length (SVL): 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in)

  • Weight: 3–10 g

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