The latter is sometimes treated as a separate species Eumeces epipleurotus or Eumeces gaigeae (Taylor1935), or given as the subspecies E.m. gaigeae. These names are in honor of a Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige (1890–1976), a herpetologist from the University of Michigan.
E.m. epipleurotus is also called the Two-lined Skink.
Description
The Many-lined Skink is a medium-sized skink reaching a maximum length from snout to vent of about 7.5 cm (3 inches) and a total length of roughly 19 cm (about 7.5 in). Its body is olive to brown in color. E.m. multivirgatus has black stripes along the body and tail, while E.m. epipleurotus has two white stripes with black borders.
Range and Habitat
The range of E.m. multivirgatus is limited in the north by southern South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming and extends in the south until the Arkansas River in Colorado. E.m. multivirgatus prefers sandy soil and occurs in habitat below 1675 m (5500 ft).
E.m. epipleurotus occurs from south-eatsern Utah and southern Colorado through Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas to Chihuahua in Mexico. It lives in rocky habitat up to elevations of 2600 m (8500 ft).
External links
BISON fact sheet (http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/states/nmex_main/species/030200.htm) for E.m. epipleurotus
An image of E.m.multivirgatus (http://coloherp.org/geo/species/speeumu.php)
An image of E.m.epipleurotus (http://coloherp.org/geo/species/speeuga.php)
Eumeces are delicate animals whose tail breaks off easily, and herpetologists and other enthusiasts should handle them with great care, if at all.
Eumeces marginatus — Ryūkyū five-lined Skink; Okinawa and Amami Islands
Finally, there is Eumeces gaigeae, the "Variable Skink" in North America: researchers seem to be unclear about this skink, it is sometimes listed as a separate species, and sometimes as a subspecies of Eumecesmultivirgatus, either as Eumecesmultivirgatus gaigeae or as Eumecesmultivirgatus epipleurotus.
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