Gans' Tree Skink

Gans' tree skink, or Gans's lankaskink, is endemic to Sri Lanka and named for the herpetologist Carl Gans. It is common in home gardens and forests from sea level to 1,000 m in the wet zones, with records from Gampola, Deniyaya, Ratnapura, Sinharaja and Kuruwita. It has 23 to 28 scale rows at midbody. The back is greyish brown with brownish-black stripes along the midline and flanks, the flanks spotted yellowish cream, and the belly plain greyish yellow. Males have a dark throat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It hides under logs, stones and leaf litter and comes out to forage in the morning and at dusk, feeding on insects. A mature female may lay one or two eggs in loose soil. Nationally Vulnerable (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).