The complete mitochondrial genome of Eumeces chinensis (Squamata: Scincidae) and implications for Scincidae taxonomy

Chinese skink (Eumeces chinensis) is a ground-dwelling oviparous sincid lizard, which is widely distributed in the southern Provinces of China, including Taiwan and Hainan. Here, the complete mitochondrial genome of E. chinensis (17 175 bp in length) has been analyzed for building the database. It contains 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes) and a non-coding region (D-loop). Overall base composition of the complete mitochondrial DNA is A (32.1%), G (14.3%), C (28.8%), and T (24.8%), so the percentage of A and T (56.9%) is slightly higher than G and C (43.1%). All the genes in E. chinensis were distributed on the H-strand, except for the ND6 subunit gene and nine tRNA genes which were encoded on the L-strand. Our phylogeny study shows that E. chinensis and P. egregius are the sister group which belongs to the genus, Plestiodon. In addition, we also prove that Lacertidae is sister to the families, Gekkonidae and Scincidae.