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 clade of Afro-Malagasy mabuyas. The genus also contains a species from the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, T. atlantica, and may occur in mainland South America with Trachylepis tschudii and Trachylepis maculata, both poorly known and enigmatic. The ancestors of T. atlantica are believed to have rafted across the Atlantic 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.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.
  • Trachylepis acutilabris – wedge-snouted skink, sharp-lipped mabuya
  • Trachylepis adamastor – Adamastor skink
  • Trachylepis affinis – Senegal mabuya
  • Trachylepis albilabris – Guinea mabuya
  • Trachylepis albotaeniataPemba Island mabuya
  • Trachylepis atlanticaNoronha 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 binotataOvambo tree skink, Bocage's mabuya
  • Trachylepis bocagii – Bocage's skink
  • Trachylepis boehmeiBöhme'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 casuarinaeCasuarina Island skink
  • Trachylepis chimbana – Chimba skink, Chimban mabuya
  • Trachylepis comorensisComoro Island skink
  • Trachylepis cristinaeAbd Al Kuri skink
  • Trachylepis damarana – Damara skink
  • Trachylepis depressaeastern sand skink
  • Trachylepis dichroma – two-coloured skink
  • Trachylepis dumasi
  • Trachylepis elegans – elegant mabuya
  • Trachylepis ferrarai – Ferrara's mabuya
  • Trachylepis gonwouoi – Gonwouo’s skink
  • Trachylepis gravenhorstiiGravenhorst's mabuya
  • Trachylepis hemmingi – Somali mabuya
  • Trachylepis hildebrandtii – Hildebrandt’s skink
  • Trachylepis hoeschi – Hoesch's mabuya
  • Trachylepis homalocephalared-sided skink
  • Trachylepis infralineata
  • Trachylepis irregularisalpine meadow mabuya
  • Trachylepis keroanensis – Teita mabuya
  • Trachylepis lacertiformis – bronze rock skink
  • Trachylepis laevigata – variable skink, striped-neck variable skink
  • Trachylepis laevisAngolan 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 monardiMonard’s skink
  • Trachylepis nancycoutuae
  • Trachylepis nganghae
  • Trachylepis occidentaliswestern three-striped skink
  • Trachylepis ozorii
  • Trachylepis paucisquamistropical mabuya
  • Trachylepis pendeana
  • Trachylepis perrotetii – Teita mabuya, African red-sided skink
  • Trachylepis planifrons – tree skink
  • Trachylepis polytropis – tropical mabuya
  • Trachylepis pulcherrima – beautiful skink
  • Trachylepis punctatissimamontane speckled skink, speckled rock skink
  • Trachylepis punctulataspeckled sand skink, speckled skink
  • Trachylepis quinquetaeniataAfrican 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 sparsaKarasburg tree skink
  • Trachylepis spilogasterKalahari tree skink, spiny mabuya
  • Trachylepis striata – African striped mabuya, striped skink
  • Trachylepis sulcatawestern 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 wingatiWingate’s skink
  • Trachylepis wrightii –Wright's skink, Wright's mabuya
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Trachylepis.