Bermuda Rock Skink
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| Bermuda Rock Skink Conservation status: Critical | ||||||||||||||||
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| Eumeces longirostris Cope, 1861 |
The Bermuda Rock Skink (Eumeces longirostris) is the only endemic terrestrial vertebrate animal of the Bermudas. It is a relatively large skink (a kind of lizard): adults reach an average snout-to-vent length of about 8 cm (a bit more than 3 inches).
Description
Adult Bermuda Rock Skinks (also known locally as "rock lizards") have dark brown or black backs and are pinkish or light gray on the underside. Juveniles are lighter in color and have black stripes running along the sides of their bodies, which fade with age. Females retain the stripes longer than males. Adult males have larger heads. Hatchlings have bright blue tails. All have salmon orange cheeks and throat.
The Bermuda Rock Skink lives predominantly in rocky coastal areas. They feed on small invertebrates such as crickets or beetles, but also on small terrestrial crustaceans.
While being more active during summer, the Bermuda Rock Skink does not hibernate because the warm climate allows it to be active year-round.
Distribution and Conservation Status
The species occurs only on the Bermudas, and healthy populations exist only on some of the smaller islands. On the main island, the population is fragmented into isolated pockets.
The Bermuda Rock Skink has been listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered. It is threatened primarily by habitat destruction, predators introduced by humans (such as cats or rats), as well as by human litter: the Bermuda Rock Skink has tiny claws on its feet, but no friction pads, and when it gets trapped in a cast-away empty glass bottle or soda can, it cannot climb out and thus starves or dies of heat stress or dehydration.
External links
- The Bermuda Skink Project (http://www.bamz.org/conservation&research/skinkproject.htm)
- Some images (http://www.bermudatourism.com/nat_rep.html)
- IUCN Red List entry (http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=8218)