Fire skink

Description

Lepidothyris fernandi or Mochlus fernandi 1 (formerly Riopa fernandi), also called the red-sided skink or Fernand's skink, is a species of saurians inthe family Scincidae. It is a very large skink, sometimes measuring more than 40 cm for a snout-vent length of up to 17 cm. The tail is as long as the body. The pupil is round. The tympanic opening is larger than the nostril. The dorsal scales are keeled, and the ventral ones very smooth. The limbs, quite short, are equipped with 5 fingers each. In terms of colouration, the middle part of the back is light brown and the sides are orange-red and black, with a few white spots. The sides of the neck and throat are spotted black and white or, more subtly, light blue. The belly is white. Females are less brightly colored than males (this is sexual dimorphism). It feeds on invertebrates. It is not a very lively animal. This species occurs in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana on Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Its presence is uncertain in Togo. It is a skink that lives on the leaf litter in the humid forest. He has a burrow from which he hardly strays and has burrowing behavior.