Keeled indian mabuya, Many-keeled grass skink, "golden skink"
Eutropis carinata, the keeled Indian mabuya, many-keeled grass skink or (ambiguously) "golden skink", is a species of skink found in South Asia.
Body robust; snout moderate, obtuse. Lower eyelids scaly; vertebral scales smooth. Ear-opening roundish, sub-triangular. Brown to olive or bronze in color above, uniform or with dark-brown or black spots, or longitudinal streaks along the lateral margins of the scales. Sides are dark-brown or chestnut, with or without light spots. A light dorso-lateral line starting from above the eye and continued to the base of the tail. Lower parts whitish or yellowish. Maximum length: 37 cm. and Common length: 25, in which Snout-vent length is 9 cm.
Crickets, caterpillars, beetles, and earthworms and even small vertebrates are known to be consumed.
Oviparous; clutches of 2-20 eggs are laid at a time in a self-excavated hole or under fallen logs, between August and September. Eggs are measuring 11 * 17 mm. Hatchlings emerge between May and June, measure 12–12.5 mm.The male reproductive cycle in Mysore, (southern India),is characterized by peak testicular size and maximum spermatogenic activity and steroidogenic activity during Oct-November which coincides with the female reproductive cycle generally in the dry, post- rainy season of the year( Shivanandappa T and Sarkar HBD, 1979, Gen. Comp.Endocrinol., 38:491-495; Saidapur SK (ed) Reproductive cycles of Indian vertebrates, 1989, pages 225–272, Allied Publ. New Delhi).
