Long-tailed Sun Skink

Fascinating facts about the Long-tailed Sun Skink

• A study of populations across southern China to Peninsular Malaysia found that some male long-tailed sun skinks actually guard their eggs when snake predators are nearby, flipping the usual reptile script of lone mothers.
• Some female long-tailed sun skinks eat their own clutch when threatened by the egg-eating snake Ophiophagus formosanus.
• The species stretches its range across eight political regions, from Hong Kong to Thailand, showing how a single skink can thrive in a mosaic of tropical and subtropical habitats.

At a glance

About the Long-tailed Sun Skink

The long-tailed sun skink, Eutropis longicaudata, is found in southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Peninsular Malaysia. Some populations exhibit paternal care, with males guarding nests when egg-eating snakes threaten the clutch, while some females have been observed eating their own eggs when threatened by the snake O. formosanus.

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