Mochlus

Mochlus is a genus of lizards in the subfamily Lygosominae of the family Scincidae (skinks). The genus is endemic to Africa.

Description

Skinks of the genus Mochlus are cylindrical in shape and robust. They get the common name "writhing skinks" from the side-to-side movement that they make when held in the hand.<ref name="A&M"/>

Diet

Skinks in the genus Mochlus feed on insects and millipedes.<ref name="A&M">Alexander, Graham; Marais, Johan (2008). A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers. 408 pp. Template:ISBN. ("Writhing Skinks", pp. 247–248).</ref>

Species

The following 19 species are recognized as being valid.<ref>Template:EMBL genus. www.reptile-database.org.</ref>

• Mochlus brevicaudis Template:Small
• Mochlus fernandi Template:Small – fire skink
• Mochlus grandisonianus Template:Small – Lanza's writhing skink
• Mochlus guineensis Template:Small – Guinean forest skink
• Mochlus hinkeli Template:Small – Hinkel's red-sided skink, Hinkel's red-flanked skink
• Mochlus laeviceps (W. Peters, 1874) – common writhing skink
• Mochlus lanceolatus Broadley, 1990 – Broadley's writhing skink
• Mochlus mabuiiformis Template:Small – Mabuya-like writhing skink
• Mochlus mafianus Template:Small – mafia writhing skink
• Mochlus mocquardi Template:Small – Mocquard's writhing skink<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Lygosoma mocquardi, p. 181).</ref>
• Mochlus paedocarinatus Template:Small – Lanza's writhing skink, Abyssinian writhing skink
• Mochlus pembanus Boettger, 1913 – Pemba Island writhing skink
• Mochlus productus Template:Small – Boulenger's writhing skink
• Mochlus simonettai Template:Small – Simonetta's writhing skink
• Mochlus somalicus Template:Small – Somali writhing skink
• Mochlus striatus Template:Small
• Mochlus sundevallii Template:Small – Sundevall's writhing skink
• Mochlus tanae Template:Small – Loveridge's writhing skink, Tana River writhing skink
• Mochlus vinciguerrae Template:Small – Vinciguerra's writhing skink

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Mochlus.

Further reading

Günther A (1864). "Report on a Collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by Dr. Kirk in the Zambesi and Nyassa Regions". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1864: 303–314. (Mochlus, new genus, p. 308). Template:Taxonbar

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