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Plestiodon skiltonianus BAIRD & GIRARD, 1852

IUCN Red List - Plestiodon skiltonianus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesPlestiodon skiltonianus interparietalis (TANNER 1958)
Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus BAIRD & GIRARD 1852
Plestiodon skiltonianus utahensis (TANNER 1958)
Plestiodon skiltonianus brevipes COPE 1900 
Common NamesE: Coronado Island Skink [interparietalis]
E: Western Skink [skiltonianus]
E: Great Basin Skink [utahensis]
S: Lincer Occidental 
SynonymPlestiodon skiltonianum BAIRD & GIRARD 1852
Eumeces skiltonianus — COPE 1875: 45
Eumeces hallowellii BOCOURT 1879: 435 (fide TAYLOR 1935)
Eumeces skiltonianus amblygrammus COPE 1900: 643
Eumeces skiltonianus skiltonianus — TAYLOR 1936: 415
Eumeces skiltonianus — STOKELY 1947
Eumeces skiltonianus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 167
Eumeces skiltonianus — STEBBINS 1985: 148
Eumeces skiltonianus — LINER 1994
Eumeces skiltonianus — GRISMER 1996
Eumeces skiltonianus — GRIFFITH, NGO & MURPHY 2000
Plestiodon skiltonianus — SCHMITZ et al. 2004

Plestiodon skiltonianus brevipes (COPE 1900) (see comment)
Eumeces skiltonianus var. brevipes COPE 1900
Eumeces skiltonianus brevipes — TAYLOR 1936: 428

Plestiodon skiltonianus interparietalis (TANNER 1958)
Eumeces skiltonianus interparietalis TANNER 1958: 73
Plestiodon skiltonianus interparietalis — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009
Eumeces skiltonianus interparietalis — BARTS 2018

Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus BAIRD & GIRARD 1852
Plestiodon skiltonianum BAIRD & GIRARD 1852
Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009

Plestiodon skiltonianus utahensis (TANNER 1958)
Eumeces skiltonianus utahensis TANNER 1957: 67
Plestiodon skiltonianus utahensis — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009 
DistributionCanada (S British Columbia)
USA (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Utah),
Mexico (N Baja California, Los Coronados Islands, Todos Santos Islands, Ensenada, San José, Rancho San José, Alcatraz, San Pedro Mártir Mountains, Arroyo Encantada, San Quintín)

Type locality: Oregon. Restricted to “The Dalles” by SMITH & TAYLOR 1950.

interparietalis: Coronado Island, Baja California; Type locality: “South Coronado Island, Baja Californiam Mexico”

skiltonianus: Oregon etc.

utahensis: Utah; Type locality: “souheastern edge of Cedar Valley, approximately half mile directly west of Chimney Rock, Utah County, Utah”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: USNM 3172 a (smaller of the two syntypes under 3172). Designation by Taylor (1936).
Holotype: USNM 12558 [brevipes]
Holotype: CAS 13576 [interparietalis]
Holotype: ZMB 6610 [hallowellii]
Holotype: BYU 6945 [utahensis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (617 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution and synonymy after SMITH & TAYLOR 1950.

Subspecies: brevipes is probably a synonym of skiltonianus. It was diagnosed by TAYLOR 1936 as follows: “Related to skiltonianus skiltonianus, but larger and more robust, the body proportionally more elongate, the scales having a more glassy appearance. The tail is lavender, a color retained more or less in the adults.”, Rodgers and Fitch (1947) proposed that P. skiltonianus brevipes is a synonym of P. gilberti gilberti. Crother et al. 2017 do not list brevipes as valid subspecies.

Phylogenetics: Richmond and Reeder (2002) presented mitochondrial DNA evidence that P. s. skiltonianus is paraphyletic with respect to both P. s. interparietalis and P. s. utahensis as well as to the species P. lagunensis (Baja California) and to two of the three lineages of P. gilberti. 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. Avery J. Skilton, American naturalist who sent specimens to Baird and Girard. 
References
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  • Mosauer, Walter 1936. The reptilian fauna of sand dune areas of Vizcaino Desert and of northwestern Lower California. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (329): 1-21 - get paper here
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