Skinks

Cooper W.E. Jr. (1995). Effects of estrogen and male head coloration on chemosensory investigation of female cloacal pheromones by male broad-headed skinks (Eumeces laticeps). Physiol Behav 58, 1221-1225. 

Shortly after chlordane was applied to wooden huts in Australia for termite control, large numbers of dead skinks (Morethia boulengeri, Lerista puctorittata) and frogs (Litoria caerulea, L. peronii) were discovered, presumably killed by the chlordane (Henle 1988). Toad (Bufo arenar-ium) embryos survived 0.5 mg technical chlordane/L for 8 days, but died by day 20 all embryos held in 15 mg/L were dead by day 15 (Juarez and Guzman 1984). For tadpoles of the common toad (Bufo bufo), a 48-h LC50 of 2 mg/L was reported (WHO 1984). 

Olsson, M. and Shine, R. (1998) Chemosensory mate recognition may facilitate prolonged mate guarding by male snow skinks, Niveoscincus microlepidotus. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 43, 359-363. 

A detailed predator-prey analysis of the chemical relations between the carabid Pasimachus subsulcatus and the skink Eumeces inexpectus proved that the latter were repelled by constituents of the carabids secretions, indicating that the beetles are chemically protected from attacks by the lizards [85]. 

Olfaction is not necessary in other lizard species. For instance, the ground-skink, Scincella lateralis, which feeds on insects in the ground litter, does not require chemical cues to attack prey (Nicoletto, 1985). Presumahly, vision alone suffices for this purpose. 

Elevation in tongue-flick rate after biting prey in the broad-headed skink,Ett/ ie-ces laticeps. Journal of Chemical Ecology 18,455-467. 

Skinkly, J. H., Practical Tests for Quantitatively Evaluating Dye Characteristics and Dye-... 

Fish, amphibians, and reptiles are usually less sensitive to 1080 than warm-blooded animals. Reptiles, for example, are more resistant to 1080 than mammals. The relatively small elevation of plasma citrate levels in skinks Tiliqua rugosa) given 100.0 mg 1080/kg BW reflects the exceptional tolerance of this lizard species. The minimal effect of fluoroacetate on aerobic respiration in T. rugosa could be explained by a low conversion of fluoroacetate into fluorocitrate or by a low susceptibility of aconitase to the fluorocitrate formed. Though defluorination in skinks helped to minimize the immediate effects of fluoroacetate in aerobic respiration, it resulted in rapid depletion of liver glutathione levels. 

Leopard lizard, Crotophytus wislizenii, 117 Shingle-back lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, 798 Six-lined racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus, 264 Skink, Lerista spp., 122, 793 Skink, Morethia spp., 122 Uta, side-blotched, Uta stansbunana. 111 Whip-tailed lizard, Cnemidophorus tigris, 117... 

Skink, common five-lined (Eumeces fasciatus)... 

Cooper, W.E., Jr. 1990. Chemical detection of predators by a lizard, the broad-headed skink (Eumeces laticeps). J. Exp. Zool, 256, 162-167. 

Warburg, M. R., 1966, On the water economy of several Australian geckos, agamids, and skinks, Copeia, 1966 230. 

LIZARD PHEROMONES BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES AND ADAPTIVE SIGNIFICANCE IN SKINKS OF THE GENUS EUMECES... 

In this article, we review a research program on pheromonal communication in three congeneric skinks. The major emphases have been on social discriminations based on chemical cues, including choice of mates and agonistic opponents, on selective forces underlying the evolution of pheromonal communication (especially sexual selection), and on the anatomical site of pheromone production. 

---