Taylor’s Ground Skink

Taylor’s Ground Skink

Scincella silvicola

Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Monterrey

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

8 Verified sightings at Monterrey
31 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Taylor’s Ground Skink

Scincella silvicola is a species of skink that lives in the southern Sierra Madre Oriental and northern Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Mexico, from Puebla to Oaxaca. It occurs primarily in dry, scrubby areas and forests, especially pine forests. It is generally a common species and faces no major threats. It is most likely ovoviviparous.

Like all members of the genus Scincella, S. silvicola is long and cylindrical, with short limbs. Its color is light bronze or cream, and it has a dark stripe originating at the snout and running dorsolaterally across its body. Its maximum snout-vent length is about 53 millimeters.

Canseco-Márquez, L. & Santos-Barrera, G. (2007). "Scincella silvicola". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007. IUCN: e.T64246A12758239. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64246A12758239.en. Retrieved 23 December 2017.

García-Vásquez, Uri, and Manuel Feria-Ortiz. "Skinks of Mexico." Reptilia No. 49: 74–79. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monterrey 🇲🇽 México
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Taylor’s Ground Skink in Monterrey?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Taylor’s Ground Skink sighting in Monterrey on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 17th most-seen of the 26 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Taylor’s Ground Skink in Monterrey?

March and July–September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Taylor’s Ground Skink in Monterrey on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and October–February, the lowest months. Those are among Monterrey's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Taylor’s Ground Skink?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Taylor’s Ground Skink sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Taylor’s Ground Skink?

Only Monterrey, in our data

Monterrey is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Taylor’s Ground Skink sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Taylor’s Ground Skink sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Taylor’s Ground Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Monterrey (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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