Family : SCINCIDAE
Species : Sphenomorphus praesignis
Size (snout to vent) : 11 cm
Size (total length) : 25 cm

The Blotched Forest Skink is a shy, elusive species of montane rainforests. By day it may be found searching amongst leaf litter and forest floor debris, but it is quick to flee and into crevices or burrows if disturbed.

Dorsally it is dark brown, reddish brown or  dark olive-green, and the flanks are mottled. Along the anterior art of the flanks are two or three distinctive, dark blotches. The ventral surface is more pale, sometimes pale yellow. The snout is short, the eyes relatively large, and the lips mottled.

This is considered an uncommon species, with a distribution limited to forested mountain areas with elevations of over 800 metres in southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.

Fig 1 : This specimen from Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia (elevation = 1100 metres) lives inside the hollow trunk of a fallen tree, emerging by day to warm itself in the weak sunlight penetrating the forest canopy. 

Fig 2 : Sheltering in a disused burrow this adult specimen has an  estimated total length of 20 cm.  Found at Fraser's Hill,  Peninsular Malaysia at an elevation of 1300 metres.

Fig 3 : Specimen found resting at night 5 metres up a tree.  Found at Fraser's Hill,  Peninsular Malaysia at an elevation of 1300 metres.


References :

Manthey U., Grossmann W., 1997. Amphibien und Reptilien Sudostasiens. Natur und Tier - Verlag.