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Florida Sand Skink

Neoseps reynoldsi
If you're just looking at a picture, you might think that a Florida Sand Skink is a snake-- no legs after all! But (as the Skink name states), this is in fact a lizard, one with very tiny, nearly absent legs!

There actually are itty-bitty legs on these guys, and they only have one or two toes on each. The Sand Skinks have bodies that are well adapted to moving in the loose sands and soils that they call home-- including wedge-shaped heads and powerful muscles that allow them to move like in a wavy motion.

Florida Sand Skinks are found only in the state of Florida. They live in very specific habitats that contain loose substrate and not too much moisture. They hunt small underground invertebrates.

Sadly, these Reptiles are Vulnerable, and that is due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
IUCN Status : Vulnerable
Location : Florida, USA
Size : Length up to 5in (13cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Squamata
Family : Scincidae -- Genus : Neoseps -- Species : N. reynoldsi
Image : Steve Johnson
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