Are skinks protected animals? You'll understand after reading this article

Skinks are also called lizards, mountain dragon lizards, geckos, pig-woman snakes, four-legged snakes, etc., and are a general term for about 1275 species of lizards. Typical individuals have a cylindrical body, a conical head, and a long, gradually tapering tail; the tail breaks easily and can regenerate after breaking. So, are skinks protected animals?

1. Are skinks protected animals?

Skinks are protected animals. According to the "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals," the Chinese crocodile lizard and monitor lizards are Class I nationally protected animals, and the tokay gecko is a Class II nationally protected animal. The yellow-striped skink, Chinese skink, blue-tailed skink, Liu's skink, Chong'an skink, four-lined skink, and Dadu skink are included in the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State as Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Research Value."

There are about 3750 species of animals in the order Squamata (lizards), and within this large family, skinks are only one family. Among them, the Chinese crocodile lizard is an animal of the order Squamata, family Shinisauridae, genus Shinisaurus; monitor lizards are animals of the order Squamata, family Varanidae, genus Varanus; the tokay gecko is an animal of the order Squamata, family Gekkonidae, genus Gekko. The yellow-striped skink, Chinese skink, blue-tailed skink, Liu's skink, Chong'an skink, four-lined skink, and Dadu skink are animals of the order Squamata, family Scincidae, genus Plestiodon. It is only because they look similar that they are collectively called lizards.

In the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State as Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Research Value," species of the skink family genera Emoia, Eutropis, Scincella, Sphenomorphus, and Tropidophorus are also listed, such as the long-tailed mabuya, many-keeled mabuya, multi-lined mabuya, Kunming ground skink, long-limbed ground skink, Taiwan ground skink, femoral-scaled forest skink, copper forest skink, spotted forest skink, Guangxi keeled skink, Hainan keeled skink, Chinese keeled skink, etc.

2. What do skinks eat?

Skinks mainly feed on insects and similar small invertebrates, while larger species feed on plants. If they are to be artificially bred, the food should mainly be mealworms and other insects.