Die Skinkartigen (Scincoidea) sind ein Taxon der Schuppenkriechtiere (Squamata). Die zu ihnen gehörenden Echsen leben weltweit in den Tropen und Subtropen meist auf dem Erdboden und oft in ariden Gebieten. Nur wenige Skinkartige können klettern und leben in Bäumen. Unter ihnen gibt es schlangenartige Arten mit reduzierten Gliedmaßen. Alle Scincoidea haben eine Zunge, die von übereinanderliegenden, flachen Schuppen bedeckt ist.
Traditionell wurden die Scincoidea mit den Lacertoidea zu den „Scincomorpha“ zusammengefasst:
Daneben vertraten einige Wissenschaftler die Auffassung, dass auch die beinlosen Doppelschleichen (Amphisbaenia) und Schlangenschleichen (Dibamidae) zu den Scincomorpha gehören.
Molekularbiologische Studien verwerfen jedoch inzwischen die Monophylie der Scincomorpha. Die Schlangenschleichen stehen als urtümliche Gruppe an der Basis des Squamaten-Kladogramms. Die Echten Eidechsen (Lacertidae) werden nicht mehr als Skinkartige, sondern als Schwestergruppe der Doppelschleichen angesehen und mit ihnen in das neue Taxon Lacertibaenia gestellt. Mit den Schienenechsen und den Zwergtejus, die ebenfalls nicht mehr zu den Skinkartigen gerechnet werden, bilden sie ein weiteres neues Taxon, die Laterata (auch weiterhin Lacertoidea genannt). Die übrigen Skinkartigen, die Skinke, Nachtechsen, Gürtelschweife und Schildechsen, bilden das neue Taxon Scinciformata, das der bisherigen Überfamilie Scincoidea entspricht; letzterer Name wird jedoch auch weiterhin verwendet.[1][2][3]
Das folgende Kladogramm fasst diese molekulare Verwandtschaftshypothese zusammen:
Scincoidea (Scinciformata)Skinke (Scincidae)
Nachtechsen (Xantusiidae)
Gürtelschweife (Cordylidae)
Schildechsen (Gerrhosauridae)
Die Skinkartigen (Scincoidea) sind ein Taxon der Schuppenkriechtiere (Squamata). Die zu ihnen gehörenden Echsen leben weltweit in den Tropen und Subtropen meist auf dem Erdboden und oft in ariden Gebieten. Nur wenige Skinkartige können klettern und leben in Bäumen. Unter ihnen gibt es schlangenartige Arten mit reduzierten Gliedmaßen. Alle Scincoidea haben eine Zunge, die von übereinanderliegenden, flachen Schuppen bedeckt ist.
Scincomorpha is an infraorder and clade of lizards including skinks (Scincidae) and their close relatives. These include the living families Cordylidae (girdled lizards), Gerrhosauridae (plated lizards), and Xantusiidae (night lizards), as well as many extinct taxa. Other roughly equivalent terms include the suborder Scinciformata,[3] or the superfamily Scincoidea, though different authors use these terms in a broader or more restricted usage relative to true skinks. They first appear in the fossil record about 170 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.[4] The phylogeny below follows that of Alifanov in 2016.[2]
Scincomorpha Xantusiomorpha Leptoglossa ArdeosauroideaThere are many characteristics that are shared upon all skinks. All skinks have very cone shaped heads with large, symmetrical, and shield-like scales. Their scales are smooth, glossy, and circular all throughout their body. Once you get to their back and belly areas, they have more round scales that overlap like roof shingles. Their bodies are cylindrical in their cross section and have body scales that have bony plates underneath them called “osteoderms”. Osteoderms are dermal bone structures that support the upper layer of skin and serve as protection against the elements in a large variety of extinct and extant organisms, especially reptiles. This structure is commonly called "dermal armor" and serves to protect the organism, while also helping with temperature regulation. The roofs of their mouths are made up of two bony plates instead of one. One of their bony plates is called a palate and the other bony palate in the roof of their mouth separates the respiratory and digestive passages. They also have very long tapering tails with small legs and five toes.
For their distribution, there are around 1,275 species of skinks all around the world. They are very popular and can be mostly found in Southeast Asia, the deserts of Australia, and temperate regions of North America. There are also desert species skinks that are called “sand swimmers” that are found in Florida. Five-lined skinks are very popular throughout Georgia and North Carolina, they are found in very wooded areas and like to hide in fallen trees. Skinks are more abundant and endangered in Africa and Indo Australia because of predators and loss of habitat. Another very popular area is New Zealand, the pale-flecked garden sunskink (Lampropholis guichenoti) is very common. They are also found in the suburban gardens in Auckland. Some skink species are more terrestrial and fossorial, some arboreal meaning tree-dwelling, and others are semiaquatic.
(Skinks (Scincidae) ." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. . Retrieved March 25, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/skinks-scincidae)
(Vitt, L. (2018, October 10). Skink. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/animal/skink)
Media related to Scincomorpha at Wikimedia Commons 
Data related to Scincomorpha at Wikispecies
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There are many characteristics that are shared upon all skinks. All skinks have very cone shaped heads with large, symmetrical, and shield-like scales. Their scales are smooth, glossy, and circular all throughout their body. Once you get to their back and belly areas, they have more round scales that overlap like roof shingles. Their bodies are cylindrical in their cross section and have body scales that have bony plates underneath them called “osteoderms”. Osteoderms are dermal bone structures that support the upper layer of skin and serve as protection against the elements in a large variety of extinct and extant organisms, especially reptiles. This structure is commonly called "dermal armor" and serves to protect the organism, while also helping with temperature regulation. The roofs of their mouths are made up of two bony plates instead of one. One of their bony plates is called a palate and the other bony palate in the roof of their mouth separates the respiratory and digestive passages. They also have very long tapering tails with small legs and five toes.
For their distribution, there are around 1,275 species of skinks all around the world. They are very popular and can be mostly found in Southeast Asia, the deserts of Australia, and temperate regions of North America. There are also desert species skinks that are called “sand swimmers” that are found in Florida. Five-lined skinks are very popular throughout Georgia and North Carolina, they are found in very wooded areas and like to hide in fallen trees. Skinks are more abundant and endangered in Africa and Indo Australia because of predators and loss of habitat. Another very popular area is New Zealand, the pale-flecked garden sunskink (Lampropholis guichenoti) is very common. They are also found in the suburban gardens in Auckland. Some skink species are more terrestrial and fossorial, some arboreal meaning tree-dwelling, and others are semiaquatic.
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