''Trachylepis'' is a

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Mabuyinae Mabuyinae is a subfamily of lizards, commonly known as skinks, within the family Scincidae. The genera in this subfamily were previously found to belong the '' Mabuya'' group in the large subfamily Lygosominae. They have a pantropical distri ...

found mainly in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Its members were formerly included in the " wastebin taxon" '' Mabuya'', and for some time in '' Euprepis''. As defined today, ''Trachylepis'' contains the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

of Afro-Malagasy mabuyas. The genus also contains a species from the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian island of

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...

, '' T. atlantica'', and may occur in mainland

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

with '' Trachylepis tschudii'' and '' Trachylepis maculata'', both poorly known and enigmatic. The ancestors of ''T. atlantica'' are believed to have rafted across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

from Africa during the last 9 million years. The generic name ''Trachylepis'' literally means "rough-scaled", referring to the fact that most of the species, though superficially smooth-scaled, have three or more slight longitudinal keels on their

dorsal scales 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 ...

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid (listed alphabetically by

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

). *'' Trachylepis acutilabris'' – wedge-snouted skink, sharp-lipped mabuya *'' Trachylepis adamastor'' – Adamastor skink *'' Trachylepis affinis'' – Senegal mabuya *'' Trachylepis albilabris'' – Guinea mabuya *'' Trachylepis albotaeniata'' – Pemba Island mabuya *'' Trachylepis atlantica'' – Noronha skink *'' Trachylepis aureogularis'' – Guinea mabuya, orange-throated skink *'' Trachylepis aureopunctata'' – gold-spotted mabuya *'' Trachylepis bayonii'' – Bayão’s skink, Bayon's skink, Bayon's mabuya *'' Trachylepis bensonii'' – Benson's mabuya *'' Trachylepis betsileana'' – Betsileo mabuya *'' Trachylepis binotata'' – Ovambo tree skink, Bocage's mabuya *'' Trachylepis bocagii'' – Bocage's skink *'' Trachylepis boehmei'' – Böhme's grass skink *'' Trachylepis boettgeri'' – Boettger's mabuya *'' Trachylepis boulengeri'' – Boulenger's mabuya *'' Trachylepis brauni'' – Braun's mabuya *'' Trachylepis brevicollis'' – short-necked skink, Sudan mabuya *'' Trachylepis buettneri'' *'' Trachylepis capensis'' – Cape skink, Cape three-lined skink *'' Trachylepis casuarinae'' – Casuarina Island skink *'' Trachylepis chimbana'' – Chimba skink, Chimban mabuya *'' Trachylepis comorensis'' – Comoro Island skink *'' Trachylepis cristinae'' – Abd Al Kuri skink *'' Trachylepis damarana'' – Damara skink *'' Trachylepis depressa'' – eastern sand skink *'' Trachylepis dichroma'' – two-coloured skink *'' Trachylepis dumasi'' *'' Trachylepis elegans'' – elegant mabuya *'' Trachylepis ferrarai'' – Ferrara's mabuya *'' Trachylepis gonwouoi'' – Gonwouo’s skink *'' Trachylepis gravenhorstii'' – Gravenhorst's mabuya Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Mabuya gravenhorstii'', p. 106). *'' Trachylepis hemmingi'' – Somali mabuya *'' Trachylepis hildebrandtii'' – Hildebrandt’s skink *'' Trachylepis hoeschi'' – Hoesch's mabuya *'' Trachylepis homalocephala'' – red-sided skink *'' Trachylepis infralineata'' *''

Trachylepis irregularis The alpine meadow mabuya (''Trachylepis irregularis'') is a species of skink found in Uganda and Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million a ...

'' – alpine meadow mabuya *'' Trachylepis keroanensis'' – Teita mabuya *'' Trachylepis lacertiformis'' – bronze rock skink *'' Trachylepis laevigata'' – variable skink, striped-neck variable skink *'' Trachylepis laevis'' – Angolan blue-tailed skink *'' Trachylepis langheldi'' – Langheld's skink *'' Trachylepis lavarambo'' *'' Trachylepis loluiensis'' – Loloui Island skink *'' Trachylepis maculata'' – spotted mabuya *'' Trachylepis maculilabris'' – speckle-lipped skink, speckle-lipped mabuya *'' Trachylepis madagascariensis'' – Malagasy mabuya *'' Trachylepis makolowodei'' – Makolowodé's trachylepis *'' Trachylepis margaritifera'' – rainbow skink *'' Trachylepis megalura'' – grass-top skink, long-tailed skink *'' Trachylepis mekuana'' *'' Trachylepis mlanjensis'' – Mulanje skink *'' Trachylepis monardi'' – Monard’s skink *'' Trachylepis nancycoutuae'' *'' Trachylepis nganghae'' *'' Trachylepis occidentalis'' – western three-striped skink *'' Trachylepis ozorii'' *'' Trachylepis paucisquamis'' – tropical mabuya *'' Trachylepis pendeana'' *'' Trachylepis perrotetii'' – Teita mabuya, African red-sided skink *'' Trachylepis planifrons'' – tree skink *'' Trachylepis polytropis'' – tropical mabuya *'' Trachylepis pulcherrima'' – beautiful skink *'' Trachylepis punctatissima'' – montane speckled skink, speckled rock skink *'' Trachylepis punctulata'' – speckled sand skink, speckled skink *'' Trachylepis quinquetaeniata'' – African five-lined skink, rainbow mabuya *'' Trachylepis raymondlaurenti'' – Laurent's long-tailed skink *'' Trachylepis rodenburgi'' – Rodenburg's mabuya *'' Trachylepis sechellensis'' – Seychelles mabuya *'' Trachylepis socotrana'' – Socotra skink *'' Trachylepis sparsa'' – Karasburg tree skink *'' Trachylepis spilogaster'' – Kalahari tree skink, spiny mabuya *''

Trachylepis striata The African striped skink (''Trachylepis striata''), commonly called the striped skink, is a species of lizard in the skink Family (biology), family (Scincidae). The species is widespread in East Africa and Southern Africa. It is not a close rela ...

'' – African striped mabuya, striped skink *'' Trachylepis sulcata'' – western rock skink *'' Trachylepis tandrefana'' *'' Trachylepis tavaratra'' *'' Trachylepis tessellata'' – tessellated mabuya *'' Trachylepis thomensis'' *'' Trachylepis varia'' – variable skink *'' Trachylepis variegata'' – variegated skink *'' Trachylepis vato'' – boulder mabuya *'' Trachylepis vezo'' *'' Trachylepis volamenaloha'' *'' Trachylepis wahlbergii'' – Wahlberg's striped skink *'' Trachylepis wingati'' – Wingate’s skink *'' Trachylepis wrightii'' –Wright's skink, Wright's mabuya ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Trachylepis''.

Species

References

Further reading