European Copper Skink

Ablepharus kitaibelii

The European Copper Skink is a small, shiny lizard that loves to hide under rocks and leaves. It has a beautiful coppery color that helps it blend in with its surroundings.

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The European Copper Skink is a small, sleek lizard with a distinctive shiny, bronze or coppery-brown body. It often has a subtle dark stripe along its flanks, and its smooth, polished scales give it a glass-like appearance, making it visually distinct from rougher-scaled lizards or snakes.

ReichAnimaliaStammChordataKlasseSquamataOrdnungLacertiliaFamilieScincidaeGattungAblepharus

European Copper Skink

Kategorie

Reptilien

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Instead of running, it often wriggles like a snake to move quickly through grass!

It's so small, some adults are no bigger than your finger!

This skink never blinks! It has clear, fused eyelids, like built-in goggles!

When sunbathing, its coppery scales can shimmer, perhaps confusing a predator!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

European Copper Skink can detach its tail when caught by a predator, because it can regrow a new one, helping them escape danger.

European Copper Skink has a transparent fused eyelid that allows them to see even when their eyes are closed, which helps them stay alert.

European Copper Skink has very smooth, polished scales that help them easily slide through dense vegetation or burrow into loose soil.

European Copper Skink has tiny, almost vestigial limbs, which helps them slither through tight spaces with snake-like fluidity.

Maße und Details

Länge: 10-16 cm
Gewicht: 0.002-0.006 kg
Lebenserwartung: 3-7 Jahre
Top Speed: 8 km/h
Gelegegröße: 2-6
Brutzeit: 28-42 Tage

Ernährung und Fütterung

A tiny hunter, it munches on small insects and other invertebrates found hiding in the leaves.

Hauptnahrung

ants
small beetles
spiders
crickets
larvae

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

eats

Red Wood Ant

Formica rufa

A common tiny snack for the skink.

eaten by

Nosed Viper

Vipera ammodytes

A venomous snake that preys on small lizards.

eaten by

Common Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

A swift bird of prey hunting small reptiles.

Merkmale

Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger leben den größten Teil ihres Lebens allein und interagieren mit Artgenossen nur zur Paarung oder zur Aufzucht der Jungen.

Getarnt

Getarnt beschreibt Organismen, die über eine Färbung oder Musterung verfügen, durch die sie mit ihrer Umgebung verschmelzen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.