''Trachylepis maculata'', the spotted mabuya, is a species of
skink in the genus ''
Trachylepis
''Trachylepis'' is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the " wastebin taxon" '' Mabuya'', and for some time in '' Euprepis''. As defined today, ''Trachylepis'' contains the ...
'' recorded from
Demerara
Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state f ...
in
Guyana, northern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
. It is placed in the genus ''
Trachylepis
''Trachylepis'' is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the " wastebin taxon" '' Mabuya'', and for some time in '' Euprepis''. As defined today, ''Trachylepis'' contains the ...
'', which is otherwise mostly restricted to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and its
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
may be in error.
[ It is an unstriped, olive-brown, grayish animal, with dark spots all over the body.][Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, 2002, p. 293] Its taxonomic history is complex due to confusion with ''Trachylepis atlantica
The Noronha skink (''Trachylepis atlantica'') is a species of skink from the island of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. It is covered with dark and light spots on the upperparts and is usually about in length. The tail is long and ...
'' from the Atlantic Ocean island of Fernando de Noronha and doubts regarding its type locality.
''T. maculata'' was first described, as ''Tiliqua maculata'', by Gray in 1839 on the basis of three specimens said to be from Demerara, Guyana.[ On the same page, Gray described ''Tiliqua punctata'' from the island of Fernando de Noronha off Brazil. In 1887, the two names were considered by Boulenger to pertain to the same species, which was initially named ''Mabuya punctata'' but renamed ''Mabuya maculata'' by Anderson in 1900, because the latter name was ]preoccupied
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...
by an older name. In 1935, Dunn disputed that the two were identical, reinstated ''Mabuya punctata'' as the name for the Noronha species, apparently unaware that the name is preoccupied, and considered ''maculata'' to be the same as '' Mabuya mabouya''. In 1946, Travassos again synonymized the two, naming the Noronha skink as ''Mabuya maculata''.[Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, 2002, p. 292] In the early 2000s, the matter was revisited by Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, who examined the type specimens of ''punctata'' and ''maculata''. They noted that ''punctata'' differs from ''maculata'' in having five instead of three keels on the dorsal scale
In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...
s; generally fewer scales; parietal scale
Parietal scale refers to the scales of a snake which are on the head of the snake and are connected to the frontals towards the posterior. These scales are analogous to and take their name from the parietal bone which forms the roof and sides of ...
s separated, not in contact as in ''punctata''; and fewer subdigital lamellae below the fourth finger and toe.[ Consequently, they regarded the two as representing distinct species and recommended that the Fernando de Noronha species be named ''Mabuya atlantica'' and the Guyana one ''Mabuya maculata''.][Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, 2002, p. 294] In 2002, it was realized that the genus '' Mabuya'' was not a natural grouping and a mainly African group of species which also includes the Fernando de Noronha skink was transferred to a separate genus, first named ''Euprepis'' and later ''Trachylepis
''Trachylepis'' is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the " wastebin taxon" '' Mabuya'', and for some time in '' Euprepis''. As defined today, ''Trachylepis'' contains the ...
''. Since then, this species has been known as ''Trachylepis atlantica''.[Miralles et al., 2009] In 2009, Miralles and coworkers again considered the taxonomy of ''maculata'', referring it to ''Trachylepis'' instead of ''Mabuya'' because the third supraocular
In scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the eye.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ...
and frontal are in contact, as in other species of ''Trachylepis''. It also has auricular lobule Auricular may refer to anything heard, such as "auricular evidence", or:
Medicine and anatomy
* A relational adjective, as in the auricular branch of vagus nerve, used to delineate a relationship to the ear and its structures
* A synonym for ''atr ...
s and heavy keels on the dorsal scales. They were the first to use the current name combination, ''Trachylepis maculata''.[Miralles et al., 2009, p. 62]
The origin and nature of ''T. maculata'' are still unclear. The collection from Demerara which included ''T. maculata'' included various species that have not been found in Guyana again, including some restricted to Caribbean islands or to other parts of South America. Consequently, Mausfeld and Vrcibradic suggested that ''T. maculata'' may be the same as similarly colored Caribbean ''Mabuya'' species or the Venezuelan ''Mabuya falconensis
''Mabuya'' is a genus of long-tailed skinks restricted to species from various Caribbean islands. They are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is viviparous, having a highly evolved placenta that resembles that of euther ...
'',[ but these differ from ''T. maculata'' in a number of characters, indicating their membership in ''Mabuya'' instead of ''Trachylepis''. ''T. maculata'' may in fact have come from Guyana, perhaps inadvertently introduced into Guyana from Africa, and subsequently become extinct; alternatively, the three known specimens may have been collected in Africa. Among African ''Trachylepis'', '']Trachylepis perrotettii
''Trachylepis'' is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the "wastebin taxon" ''Mabuya'', and for some time in ''Euprepis''. As defined today, ''Trachylepis'' contains the clade o ...
'' is regarded as most similar to ''T. maculata''.[
]
References
Literature cited
*Miralles, A., Chaparro, J.C. and Harvey, M.B. 2009. Three rare and enigmatic South American skinks. Zootaxa 2012:47–68.
*Mausfeld, P. and Vrcibradic, D. 2002. On the nomenclature of the skink (''Mabuya'') endemic to the western Atlantic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 36(2):292–295.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q977286
Reptiles of Guyana
Trachylepis
Reptiles described in 1839
Taxa named by John Edward Gray