Plestiodon chinensis, the Chinese blue-tailed skink, is a species of lizard which is found in China, western Taiwan, and northern Vietnam.[1][2]
Plestiodon chinensis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Scincidae |
Genus: | Plestiodon |
Species: | P. chinensis |
Binomial name | |
Plestiodon chinensis (JE Gray, 1838) | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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P. chinensis was named after the skink's home in China.[2]
![Thumb](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Plestiodon_leucostictus.jpg/640px-Plestiodon_leucostictus.jpg)
There are four subspecies (though not all with universal recognition[3]):[2]
- Plestiodon chinensis chinensis (Gray, 1838) – China, Vietnam
- Plestiodon chinensis daishanensis (Mao, 1983) – Zhoushan Islands, China
- Plestiodon chinensis formosensis Van Denburgh, 1912 – Taiwan
- Plestiodon chinensis pulcher Duméril & Bibron, 1839 – China
Plestiodon chinensis formosensis from eastern Taiwan were in 2017 found to be identical with Plestiodon chinensis leucostictus, now recognized as Plestiodon leucostictus.[3]
The Chinese blue-tailed skink has an average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 13 cm, with a total length of 35 cm. It is large and stout, with a broad head and a pale white underside. As juveniles mature, their body undergoes a change in color from a dark brown with three light dorsal stripes and a blue tail to a fully mature brownish green, complete with reddish spots on the flanks. [2]
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