Mantis Lizard - Mantis Lizard

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[Classification]
The Skink family is a large group of about 85 genera and 1275 species, widely distributed throughout the world except in cold regions, and most of them are small, measuring around 20cm in length. However, the Solomon Islands' Crested Skink, Corucia zebrata , can reach a total length of 65cm, and the Great Blue-tongued Skink, Tiliqua scincoides gigas , a subspecies of the Blue-tongued Skink found in New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, is also large, measuring around 50cm. [Matsui Koji]
[Symbol, myth]
Lizards have much the same symbolic meaning as snakes and dragons, and in the Middle Ages the serpent in the Garden of Eden was often depicted as having four limbs and looking like a lizard.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "mantis lizard" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

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［分類］
　スキンク科は約85属1275種の大きなグループで，寒地を除く全世界に広く分布し，ほとんどは全長20cm前後の小型。しかしソロモン諸島産オマキトカゲCorucia zebrataは全長65cmに達し，ニューギニア，マルク諸島に分布するアオジタトカゲの亜種のオオアオジタトカゲTiliqua scincoides gigasも50cmあまりの大型である。【松井 孝爾】
［象徴，神話］
　トカゲは蛇やドラゴンとほぼ同じ象徴的意味をもち，中世ではエデンの園の蛇にしばしば四肢がつけられ，トカゲのような姿で描かれた。…

※「オマキトカゲ」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報