''Trachylepis gravenhorstii'', also known
commonly as Gravenhorst's mabuya, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
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 ...
, a
lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Scincidae. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
.
Etymology
The
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 ...
, ''gravenhorstii'', is in honor of German zoologist
Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst
Johann Ludwig Christian Carl Gravenhorst (14 November 1777 – 14 January 1857), sometimes Jean Louis Charles or Carl, was a German entomologist, herpetologist, and zoologist.
Life
Gravenhorst was born in Braunschweig. His early interest in inse ...
.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael, Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Mabuya gravenhorstii'', p. 106).]
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s of ''T. gravenhorstii'' are rocky areas,
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
, and
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, but is also found in coffee plantations and
ylang-ylang
''Cananga odorata'', known as ylang-ylang ( ) or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Vie ...
plantations.
Description
''T gravenhorstii'' may attain a
snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , and a total length (including tail) of .
[
]
Reproduction
''T. gravenhorstii'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Bauer AM (2003). "On the identity of ''Lacerta punctata'' Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
1758, the type species of the genus ''Euprepis'' Fitzinger 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro-Malagasy skinks". ''African Journal of Herpetology'' 52 (1): 1–7. (''Trachylepis gravenhorstii'', new combination).
* Duméril AMC, Bibron G
Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hire ...
(1839). ''Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome cinquième'' olume 5 Paris: Roret. viii + 854 pp. (''Euprepes gravenhorstii'', new species, p. 686). (in French).
* Glaw F, Vences M (2006). ''A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition''. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. .
*Vences M, Lima A, Miralles A, Glaw F (2014). "DNA barcoding assessment of genetic variation in two widespread skinks from Madagascar, ''Trachylepis elegans'' and ''T. gravenhorstii'' (Squamata: Scincidae)". ''Zootaxa'' 3755: 477–484.
Trachylepis
Reptiles described in 1839
Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril
Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron
{{Lygosominae-stub