Scincidae – Skinks
These lizards look and move like snakes with tiny legs
Skinks vary greatly in size and color as one of the largest lizard families. True to their lizard identity, skinks can shed their tails if you try to catch them. In fact, because of their wiggling movement and lightning speed, it’s extremely hard to get hold of small skinks (it’s fun, though, ever tried to catch a garden skink?).
Most skinks are harmless, but a few can be poisonous if eaten. One thing that is true of all skinks is that they love to dig. Skinks live in burrows and are diurnal (roam during the daytime). Skinks, depending upon size, feed on insects (or some on earthworms and snails) and are natural pest controllers.
Genera in this family
The skinks that have it all: three toes, snake-like bodies and sand-burrowing skills
The bronze-scaled skinks with a snake-eye view
Neckless lizards of the desert of Sahara and Arabia
They have a remarkable ability to mimic their environment, a trait that underscores their survival strategy
