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This species-rich, widespread genus is one of the best known and typical representatives of the family. The genus is characterized by the presence of window shields in the eye-lids and by the presence of 3 – 5 keels in one scale (dorsal body scale), evident pair of limbs and long tail. Almost all south Indian skinks are widespread. The following species occur in southern India.
Eutropis carinata (SCHNEIDER, 1801)
E. macularia (JERDON, 1780)
E. beddomei (JERDON, 1870)
E. clivicola INGER, SHAFFER, KOSHY & BAKDE, 1984
E. trivittata* (HARDWICKE &GRAY, 1827)
E. bibroni (DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1839)
E. gansi* (DAS, 1991)
Lygosoma
This genus comprises of two species, which are thin, semi-fossorial and smooth skinks that are small in size. Their shiny body and slender limbs make them easy to identify. These skinks are widespread in both plains and hills. Four species are known.
Lygosoma punctata (GMELIN, 799)
Lygosoma albopunctata (GRAY, 1846)
Lygosoma lineata (THEOBALD, 1869)
Lygosoma guentheri? (GRAY, 1831)
Ristella
This genus comprises skinks that are endemic to Western Ghats. Four species are currently known. All these skinks are blackish, brown in colour with some white dots. They are small, slender in build and have minute limbs, indicative of their fossorial habits. These skinks are characterized by presence of 2-3 keels per scale (dorsal body scale). These skinks are very special in having retractile claws and are therefore commonly known as ‘Cat skinks’.
Ristella beddomi* BOULENGER, 1887
R. rurkii* GRAY, 1839
R. travancorica* BEDDOME, 1871
R. guentheri* BOULENGER, 1887
Kaestlea (formerly Scincella)
These skinks are commonly called ‘Ground skinks’. They are shiny in appearance and are smooth, without any keels. They are semi-fossorial skinks that are endemic to high-elevation montane regions of Western Ghats. Four species are known, each of which are more or less peculiar to certain hill ranges in southern Western Ghats.
Kaestlea laterimaculatum* (BOULENGER, 1887)
K. palnica* (BOETTGER, 1892)
K. bilineatum* (GRAY, 1846) K. beddomei (BOULENGER, 1887)
K. travancoricum* (BEDDOME, 1870)
Dasia (GRAY, 1980)
These skinks are the only arboreal members of the family, in India. They are commonly called ‘Tree skinks’. They are large skinks that may be olivaceous or greenish in colour, with blackish stripes or bars. Two species are known, of which one is endemic and the other is also found in Sri Lanka. These skinks are primarily arboreal lizards that are restricted to hilly forested tracts of southern Western Ghats, being found only in 9'N & 8'N blocks.
Dasia subcaerulea* (BOULENGER, 1891)
Dasia haliana (HALY & NEVILL, 1887)
Sphenomorphus FITZINGER, 1843
These lizards are commonly called ‘Litter skinks’. They are medium sized lizards that are ground dwelling, and are commonly seen in forest floor or in open forest sides, in and around the wet forests and plantation’s vicinity. Only one species is known from southern India and is known from southern reaches of Western Ghats.
Sphenomorphus dussumieri* (DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1839)
Chalcides LAURENTI, 1768
This very little known and obscure skink is known from one south Indian species Chalcides pentadactylus (BEDDOME, 1870), reportedly known from Beypore, a coastal place in Calicut district of Kerala state. The type has been lost and is currently of uncertain position. Very recently, its congener C. ocellatus FORSKAL, 1775 (known from Punjab) was reported from Sri Lanka, but yet its distribution and status remain unequivocal.
Sepsophis and Barkudia
These genera include the rare and little known limbless lizards, one of which has recently been rediscovered after 137 years.
Sepsophis punctatus BEDDOME, 1870
Barkudia insularis ANNANDALE, 1817
B. melanosticta (SCHNEIDER, 1801)
