Scincella cherriei
—
Striped Litter Skink
Also known as:
Litter Skink, Brown Forest Skink
This species was formerly included in genus Sphenomorphus.
Trail from Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, Golfito region, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica—September 25, 2001
This was a very small little leaf-litter denizen. They were probably very common but hard to notice, and hard to catch once noticed. I think it was Alejandro Solorzano of the Costa Rica National Serpentarium who caught this one (but it might have been one of the local guides). We photographed it later that day before releasing it.
This lizard was photographed on a herping trip with GreenTracks. Here is a complete list of the species we found on this GreenTracks trip.
My skink-catching skills seem to have improved since 2001, as this one tried to hide in the leaf litter but did not escape me.
Here is a list of all the reptiles and frogs I saw on this trip to Guatemala.
Perhaps my skink-locating skills have also improved since 2001, as I found more than one on this trip.
My skink-photographing skills still leave a lot to be desired though, as none of these photos from this Guatemala trip look very natural.
Online references:
- Scincella cherriei account on The Reptile Database
- Scincella cherriei account on iNaturalist
Printed references:
- Beletsky, L. 1998. Costa Rica: The Ecotraveller's Wildlife Guide
- Campbell, J. A. 1998. Amphibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and Belize
- Hayes, M. P., Pounds, J. A., Timmerman, W. W. 1989. An Annotated List and Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Monteverde, Costa Rica
- Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America, 2nd Edition
- Lee, J. C. 2000. A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Maya World: The Lowlands of Mexico, Northern Guatemala, and Belize
- Lee, J. C. 1996. The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucatán Peninsula
- Leenders, T. 2001. A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica
- Savage, J. M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica
- Savage, J. M., Villa R., J. 1986. Introduction to the Herpetofauna of Costa Rica