The Tsushima Ground Skink is a small, smooth-scaled skink of the Korean Peninsula, Korea's Jeju Island, and Japan's Tsushima Island. You won't find it in the US. It lives on the forest floor and hides under stones and fallen logs.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 3–5 in (8–13 cm) long including the tail. Smooth, slightly glossy dark brown scales with small scattered markings and a dark brown stripe along each side. The head is small with a pointed snout, the legs are short, and the tail is a little over half the total length.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forest floor
- Under stones and logs
- Range
- Native to East Asia: the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and Tsushima Island, Japan. It does not occur in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers damp ground in temperate forests.
Behavior
- Diet
- Small insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates.
- Activity
- Quick-moving; it sometimes basks in the sun near cover.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Early summer
- Reproduction
- Lays eggs; the female does not guard them.
- Clutch size
- 1–9 eggs
Name and classification
- About the name
- Also called the Korean skink or Tsushima smooth skink. Some researchers have treated it as the same species as the Chinese Scincella modesta.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The species name honors John Van Denburgh, curator of herpetology at the California Academy of Sciences.
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