Mochlus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Scincomorpha
Superfamilia: Scincoidea

Familia: Scincidae
Genus: Mochlus
Species: M. afer – M. brevicaudis – M. fernandi – M. guineensis – M. sundevalli
Name

Mochlus
References

Ineich, I. & Trape, J-F. 2017. Euprepes chaperi Vaillant, 1884, a junior subjective synonym of Mochlus guineensis (W. Peters, 1879) (Scincidae, Lygosominae). Zootaxa 4232(4): 585–587. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.4.9. Reference page.

Mochlus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to Africa.

Description

Skinks of the genus Mochlus are cylindrical in shape and robust. They get the common name "writhing skinks" from the side-to-side movement that they make when held in the hand.[1]
Diet

Skinks in the genus Mochlus feed on insects and millipedes.[1]
Species

The following 19 species are recognized as being valid.[2]

Mochlus brevicaudis (Greer, Grandison & Barbault, 1985)
Mochlus fernandi (Burton, 1836) – fire skink
Mochlus grandisonianus Lanza & Carfi, 1966 – Lanza's writhing skink
Mochlus guineensis (W. Peters, 1879) – Guinean forest skink
Mochlus hinkeli Wagner, Böhme, Pauwels & Schmitz, 2009 – Hinkel’s red-sided skink, Hinkel’s red-flanked skink
Mochlus laeviceps (W. Peters, 1874) – common writhing skink
Mochlus lanceolatus Broadley, 1990 – Broadley's writhing skink
Mochlus mabuiiformis (Loveridge, 1935) – Mabuya-like writhing skink
Mochlus mafianus (Broadley, 1994) – mafia writhing skink
Mochlus mocquardi (Chabanaud, 1917) – Mocquard's writhing skink[3]
Mochlus paedocarinatus Lanza & Carfi, 1968 – Lanza's writhing skink, Abyssinian writhing skink
Mochlus pembanus Boettger, 1913 – Pemba Island writhing skink
Mochlus productus (Boulenger, 1909) – Boulenger's writhing skink
Mochlus simonettai (Lanza, 1979) – Simonetta's writhing skink
Mochlus somalicus (Parker, 1942) – Somali writhing skink
Mochlus striatus (Hallowell, 1854)
Mochlus sundevallii (A. Smith, 1849) – Sundevall's writhing skink
Mochlus tanae (Loveridge, 1935) – Loveridge's writhing skink, Tana River writhing skink
Mochlus vinciguerrae (Parker, 1932) – Vinciguerra's writhing skink

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Mochlus.
References

Alexander, Graham; Marais, Johan (2008). A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers. 408 pp. ISBN 978-1-77007-386-9. ("Writhing Skinks", pp. 247-248).
Genus Mochlus at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lygosoma mocquardi, p. 181).

Further reading
Günther A (1864). "Report on a Collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by Dr. Kirk in the Zambesi and Nyassa Regions". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864: 303–314. (Mochlus, new genus, p. 308).