Euprepis

''Euprepis'' is an obsolete genus of skinks in the subfamily Lygosominae. It was named by Wagler in 1830 and frequently used in subsequent years, often misspelled as ''Euprepes'', a misspelling introduced by Wiegmann in 1834. It was then subsumed under the large skink genus '' Mabuya'', until Mausfeld and others resurrected it for a group of mainly African skinks they split from ''Mabuya''. The following year, Bauer argued that this assignment had been in error and that this group should be called ''Trachylepis'' instead. ''Euprepis'' itself is a junior synonym of ''Mabuya''.Bauer, 2003, p. 5

Type species

The identity of the type species, the name-bearing type which determines the application of a generic name, of ''Euprepis'' has been in some recent dispute. In 1830, Wagler included several species in ''Euprepis'': '' Lacerta punctata'' Linnaeus, 1758 (='' Lygosoma punctatum''),Bauer, 2003, p. 4 '' Scincus multifasciatus'' Kuhl, 1820, '' Scincus trilineatus'' Schneider, 1801, '' Scincus quinquetaeniatus'' Lichtenstein, 1823, ''Scincus agilis'' Raddi, 1823 (='' Mabuya agilis''),Bauer, 2003, p. 5 ''Lacerta fasciata'' Linnaeus, 1758, ''Lacerta quinquelineata'' Linnaeus, 1758, ''Scincus tristatus'' Daudin, 1802, and ''Scincus Sloanei'' Daudin, 1802, but he did not select a type species. Subsequently, Fitzinger selected "''Eumeces mabouia''" (='' Mabuya mabouya'') as the type species, but his designation is invalid because Wagler did not include this species in his original concept of the genus.Bauer, 2003, pp. 4–5 In 1957, Loveridge selected ''Scincus agilis'' (=''Mabuya agilis'') as the type species from among the species Wagler had included as the type species, and in 1970 Peters and Donoso-Barros listed, without comment, ''Lacerta punctata'' Linnaeus (=''Lygosoma punctatum'') as the type species. When Mausfeld and others split ''Mabuya'' in 2002, they resurrected ''Euprepis'' for the group including African and Malagasy species and the Noronha skink and also listed ''Lacerta punctata'' as the type species, considering all previous type designations invalid. In 2003, Bauer argued that the earliest type species designation is valid, so the type species of ''Euprepis'' is ''Scincus agilis'', a member of ''Mabuya'' as restricted by Mausfeld and others in 2002 (including only American species), making ''Euprepis'' a junior synonym of ''Mabuya''. Bauer also argued that ''Lacerta punctata'' did not apply to a species of the African ''Mabuya'' group, as Mausfeld and others had assumed, but rather to the Asian species '' Lygosoma punctatum''.

Species

Among the species previously included in ''Euprepis'' or ''Euprepes'' are the following:
*''Euprepis atlanticus'': Mausfeld et al., 2002Mausfeld et al., 2002, p. 290 – currently ''Trachylepis atlantica''
*''Euprepes chaperi'' Vaillant, 1884 – currently ''Lygosoma sundevalli''Boulenger, 1887
p. 307
/ref>
*''Euprepis punctatus'': Gray, 1845Gray, 1845, p. 111 – currently ''Trachylepis atlantica''

Footnotes

References

Literature cited

*Bauer, A.M. 2003. On the identity of ''Lacerta punctata'' Linnaeus 1758, the type species of the genus ''Euprepis'' Wagler 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro-Malagasy skinks. African Journal of Herpetology 52:1–7.
*Boulenger, G.A. 1887
Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second edition. Vol. III. Lacertidae, Gerrosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleonidae
London: published by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 575 pp.
*Gray, J.E. 1845
Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum
London: published by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 289 pp.
*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15177526

Lygosominae
Obsolete vertebrate taxa
Lizard genera