Food habits,sexual dimorphism and female reproduction of the skink ( Eumeces chinensis) from a Lishui population in Zhejiang
浙江丽水中国石龙子的食性、两性异形和雌性繁殖

Eumeces chinensis from a Lishui population consumed a broad range of annelid, molluscan and arthropod invertebrates covering more than 30 families. Food niche breadth was 7.26 for adults and 6.69 for juveniles. Food niche overlap between adults and juveniles was 0.59. Males were the larger sex in E. chinensis. Head size(head length and head width)increased more rapidly with SVL in adult males and juveniles than in adult females. Adult males had larger heads than did adult females juveniles had large size(SVL) specific head length than did adult females. The smallest female that could lay eggs in our sample was 88.1 mm SVL, and all females surpassing this size produced a single clutch per breeding season. Egg laying occurred between 31 May and 28 June. Clutch size and clutch mass varied from 9 to 25 (mean=15 3) and from 5.20 to 18.98g (mean=10.49g), respectively. Relative clutch mass varied from 0.188 to 0.438 (mean=0.327).Clutch size and mass and egg size were positively correlated with female SVL. The increase of egg length was accommodated by an increase of egg width. Egg length, egg width and egg size were independent of clutch size. Females increased reproductive output through increasing clutch size(hence clutch mass)and egg size.