Mochlus fernandi
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The fire skink (Lepidothyris fernandi), also known commonly as Fernand's skink, the Togo fire skink, and the true fire skink, is a fairly large skink, a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is known for its bright and vivid coloration. Native to tropical forests in West and Central Africa, the fire skink lives 15 to 20 years. This species is a diurnal lizard that burrows and hides. It is relatively shy and reclusive, but may become tame in captivity.
The specific name, fernandi, refers to the island formerly known as Fernando Po, which has been called Bioko since 1979. It is known in the Yoruba language, spoken in Western Africa, as Oloronto. Historically, the fire skink has been placed in several different genera and was until recently placed in Riopa together with several skinks from southeast Asia. While these are superficially similar to the African fire skink, they are closer to some other Asian skinks, resulting in their move to Mochlus. The fire skink is not closely related to other skinks and belongs to the genus Mochlus. However, a review of the taxonomy of the fire skink did reveal that it, as traditionally defined, actually... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Yaroslavl Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Łódź Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 7 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 8 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Fire Skink sighting in Yaoundé on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Fire Skink in Yaoundé on a given day, against about 10% in October, the lowest month. February, June and September have too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fire Skink sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Yaoundé, in our data
Yaoundé is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Fire Skink sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fire Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Yaoundé (5 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.
