For more detailed description of color (often from preserved specimens), see Brown and Alcala (1980).
(Coloration in preservative; Brown and Alcala, 1980)
Dorsal Coloration: brownish-black, narrow light bluish vertebral and dorsolateral lines (golden in life [Taylor, 1915])
Tail Coloration: light tan to cream
Ventral Coloration: grayish-tan to cream
There are three species in the genus Emoia recognized to occur in the Philippines. One of these species, E. ruficauda, is recognized to be endemic to the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The two other species, E. atrocostata and E. caeruleocauda, are considered widely distributed species complexes (Brown and Alcala, 1980). These two species likely include multiple, unique evolutionary lineages in need of recognition.
Species of Emoia are often observed around streams and bodies of water, with some species commonly found in mangrove swamps or coastal habitat (E. atrocostata) and other species observed in grass-dominated habitat near rivers (Emoia ruficauda) or rocky habitat near the coast (E. caeruleocauda) (Brown and Alcala, 1980).
Of the three species found in the Philippines, only E. atrocostata is considered a moderate-sized species, with E. ruficauda and E. caeruleocauda possessing smaller body sizes.
This species can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) Snout-vent length at maturity less than 60 mm; (2) midbody scale rows 26-29; (3) 49-54 scale rows between parietals and base of tail; (4) 4th toe lamellae 55-65; (5) interparietal present; (6) dorsal color pattern marked by narrow, light longitudinal stripes; and (7) tail orange to reddish. (Brown and Alcala, 1980)
This species appears to have a disjunct distributional range on Mindanao, and is found in three non-contiguous areas: Agusan Province in northeastern Mindanao, Sultan Kudarat Province in southwest- ern Mindanao, and Sarangani Province in southern Mindanao (Gaulke and Alcala, 2009).
Mindanao Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complex (PAIC; Brown and Diesmos, 2002).
In the original description of the species, Taylor (1915) described observing individuals of E. ruficauda in tall grass along the Agusan River in northeastern Mindanao (Brown and Alcala, 1980).
SVL 42.5-53.6 mm (Brown and Alcala, 1980)
Agusan Province, Mindanao Island; type lost in World War II destructin of the Philippine Bureau of Science
The redtail emo skink (Emoia ruficauda) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in the Philippines and possibly Sulawesi.[1][2]
The redtail emo skink (Emoia ruficauda) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in the Philippines and possibly Sulawesi.
