Ocellated skink

Ocellated Skink Care Guide

Additional Resources on Ocellated Skinks

Several of these sources were helpful in the creation of this guide and can be used by the reader as additional sources of ocellated skink-specific information:

General Sources

Relevant Scientific Papers

Al-Sadoon, M. K., & Spellerberg, I. F. (1987). Metabolism of the lizard Chalcides ocellatus (Forskal) from Egypt. Journal of Arid Environments2, 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-1963(18)31186-8

Attum, O., Eason, P., & Cobbs, G. (2007). Morphology, niche segregation, and escape tactics in a sand dune lizard community. Journal of Arid Environments4, 564–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2006.07.010

Boulenger, G. A. (1890). LVI.—On the varieties of Chalcides ocellatus, Forsk. Annals and Magazine of Natural History30, 444–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222939009460860

Bozkurt, Emin & Avci, Aziz & YILMAZ, Can. (2015). A new locality record of Chalcides ocellatus (Forskal, 1775) (Sauria: Scincidae)from southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY. 39. 344-348. 10.3906/zoo-1402-42.

Brandley, M. C., Young, R. L., Warren, D. L., Thompson, M. B., & Wagner, G. P. (2012). Uterine Gene Expression in the Live-Bearing Lizard, Chalcides ocellatus, Reveals Convergence of Squamate Reptile and Mammalian Pregnancy Mechanisms. Genome Biology and Evolution3, 394–411. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evs013

Capula, M., & Luiselli, L. (1994). Resource partitioning in a Mediterranean lizard community. Bolletino Di Zoologia2, 173–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/11250009409355879

Carretero, M., Cascio, P.L., Corti, C., & Pasta, S. (2010). Sharing resources in a tiny Mediterranean island? Comparative diets of Chalcides ocellatus and Podarcis filfolensis in Lampione. Bonn zoological Bulletin, 57, 111-118.

Catena, A., & Hembreee, D. (2014). Swimming through the substrate: the neoichnology of Chalcides ocellatus and biogenic structures of sand-swimming vertebrates. Palaeontologia Electronica. https://doi.org/10.26879/463

Çiçek, K., & Göçmen, B. (2013). Food composition of Ocellated Skink, Chalcides ocellatus (Forskal, 1775) (Squamata: Scincidae), from the Cyprus Island. Acta Herpetologica, Vol 8 No 2 (2013). https://doi.org/10.13128/ACTA_HERPETOL-13404

Civantos, E., Arribas, R., & Martín, J. (2020). Niche occupancy of two (congeneric) skinks in an islands environment. Amphibia-Reptilia3, 337–347. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10002

Graves, B. M., & Halpern, M. (1990). Roles of vomeronasal organ chemoreception in tongue flicking, exploratory and feeding behaviour of the lizard, Chalcides ocellatus. Animal Behaviour4, 692–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0003-3472(05)80380-x

Daut, E.F., & Andrews, R. (1993). The Effect of Pregnancy on Thermoregulatory Behavior of the Viviparous Lizard Chalcides ocellatus. Journal of Herpetology, 27, 6-13.

Grimmond, N. & Preest, M. & Pough, F. Harvey. (1994). Energetic Cost of Feeding on Different Kinds of Prey for the Lizard Chalcides ocellatus. Functional Ecology. 8. 17. 10.2307/2390106.

Gunn, J. & Bowker, R. & Sullivan, K.O. & Sullivan, B.K.. (2012). An old world skink, chalcides ocellatus, with a long history of anthropogenically assisted dispersal, now established in mesa, arizona, USA. Herpetological Review. 43. 551-553.

Kapsalas, G., Deimezis-Tsikoutas, A., Georgakopoulos, T., Gkourtsouli-Antoniadou, I., Papadaki, K., Vassaki, K., & Pafilis, P. (2018). How effectively do European skinks thermoregulate? Evidence from Chalcides ocellatus, a common but overlooked Mediterranean lizard. Acta Herpetologica13(1), 75+.

Kornilios, P., Kyriazi, P., Poulakakis, N., Kumlutaş, Y., Ilgaz, Ç., Mylonas, M., & Lymberakis, P. (2010). Phylogeography of the ocellated skink Chalcides ocellatus (Squamata, Scincidae), with the use of mtDNA sequences: A hitch-hiker’s guide to the Mediterranean. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution2, 445–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.09.015

Lipari, L., Gerbino, A., Farina, E., Carini, F., & Lipari, A. (2015). The Parietal Eye in Reptile, Chalcides Ocellatus: An Embryological and Histological Study. Veterinary Research8(3), 27–31.

Meiri, Shai & Itescu, Yuval & Schwarz, Rachel & Slavenko, Alex & Pafilis, Panayiotis. (2016). A new island record for Chalcides ocellatus (FORSKAL, 1775) from Kythnos, Greece. Herpetozoa. 29. 98-100.

Mermer, Ahmet & Kumaş, Meltem & Mutlu, Hasan & Çiçek, Kerim. (2020). Age structure of a population of Chalcides ocellatus (Forskål, 1775) (Sauria: Scincidae) in Mediterranean Anatolia. Zoology in the Middle East. 66. 1-8. 10.1080/09397140.2020.1781362.

Nouira, S., & Kalboussi, M. (2004). Comparative diet of northern and southern Tunisian populations of Chalcides ocellatus (Forskal, 1775).

Pasteur, G. (1981). A Survey of the Species Groups of the Old World Scincid Genus Chalcides. Journal of Herpetology, 15, 1.

Saad, A.-H., & El Ridi, R. (1984). Mixed Leukocyte Reaction, Graft-Versus-Host Reaction, and Skin Allograft Rejection in the Lizard, Chalcides ocellatus. Immunobiology4–5, 484–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0171-2985(84)80025-x

Skelton, T.M., Waran, N., & Young, R. (1996). Assessment of Motivation in the Lizard, Chalcides Ocellatus. Animal Welfare, 5, 63-69.

Taylor, D. J., Titus-Mcquillan, J., & Bauer, A. M. (2012). Diet of Chalcides ocellatus(Squamata: Scincidae) from Southern Egypt. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History2, 383–388. https://doi.org/10.3374/014.053.0204

Wild Observations

Special thanks to the following breeders and experienced keepers for their contributions to this guide: Francis Cosquieri, Dave Clemens, Garry Dorrell, and Jeff Littlejohn.