Mabuyinae

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Mabuyinae
Temporal range: Miocene - Present
Eutropis multifasciata from Barangay Dibuluan, San Mariano - ZooKeys-266-001-g059.jpg
Many-striped Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Mabuyinae
Mittleman, 1952
Genera

See text

Mabuyinae is a subfamily of lizards, commonly known as skinks, within the family Scincidae. [1] The genera in this subfamily were previously found to belong the Mabuya group in the large subfamily Lygosominae. [2]

They have a pantropical distribution, being found throughout the tropics of Asia, Africa, and the Americas (but excluding most of Australasia aside from Eutropis multifasciata , found in New Guinea). Although originating in and having most species in the Old World, they managed to colonize the Americas in the Miocene; the common ancestor of the American genera is thought to have rafted across the Atlantic from Africa to South America about 18 million years ago, with the skinks diversifying across the Americas and evolving into many new genera. [3]

Six genera ( Alinea, Capitellum , Copeoglossum , Mabuya , Marisora , Spondylurus ) are found in the Caribbean (with Alinea, Capitellum, Mabuya, and Spondylurus being exclusively Caribbean genera, while Marisora and Copeoglossum have both mainland American and insular Caribbean species), and are thought to each represent independent dispersals from the American mainland within the past 10 million years. Two of these, Alinea and Capitellum, are feared to be extinct as none of their species have been seen in the past few decades; in addition, numerous other Caribbean species in the genera Mabuya, Spondylurus, and Copeoglossum are feared to have gone extinct. Most of these extinctions are due to the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata), which was introduced to the islands in the 19th century. [3]

Genera

The subfamily Mabuyinae contains 25 genera. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skink</span> Family of reptiles

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions.

<i>Amphiglossus</i> Genus of lizards

Amphiglossus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae.

<i>Egernia</i> Genus of lizards

Egernia is a genus of skinks that occurs in Australia. These skinks are ecologically diverse omnivores that inhabit a wide range of habitats. However, in the loose delimitation the genus is not monophyletic but an evolutionary grade, as has long been suspected due to its lack of characteristic apomorphies.

<i>Mabuya</i> Genus of lizards

Mabuya is a genus of long-tailed skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is restricted to species from various Caribbean islands. Species in the genus Mabuya are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is viviparous, having a highly evolved placenta that resembles that of eutherian mammals. Formerly, many Old World species were placed here, as Mabuya was a kind of "wastebasket taxon". These Old World species are now placed in the genera Chioninia, Eutropis, and Trachylepis. Under the older classification, the New World species were referred to as "American mabuyas", and as of 2024 include the genera Alinea, Aspronema, Brasiliscincus, Capitellum, Copeoglossum, Maracaiba, Marisora, and Varzea.

<i>Scincus</i> Genus of lizards

Scincus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus contains four or five species, all of which are typical desert inhabitants, living in sandy and dune-like areas with a hot and dry climate. Species in the genus Scincus can be found from Arabia to the Sahara desert.

Eutropis ashwamedhi, also known commonly as the Ashwamedh supple skink or Ashwamedha writhing skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to India.

<i>Eutropis bibronii</i> Species of lizard

Eutropis bibronii, also known commonly as Bibron's mabuya, Bibron's skink, and the seashore skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to India and Sri Lanka.

Eutropis dawsoni, also known commonly as Gans's grass skink and Gans's mabuya, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India.

<i>Eutropis tytleri</i> Species of lizard

Eutropis tytleri is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Andaman Islands, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lygosominae</span> Subfamily of lizards

Lygosominae is the largest subfamily of skinks in the family Scincidae. The subfamily can be divided into a number of genus groups. If the rarely used taxonomic rank of infrafamily is employed, the genus groups would be designated as such, but such a move would require a formal description according to the ICZN standards.

<i>Chioninia</i> Genus of lizards

Chioninia is a genus of skinks, lizards in the subfamily Lygosominae. For long, this genus was included in the "wastebin taxon" Mabuya. The genus Chioninia contains the Cape Verde mabuyas.

<i>Eutropis</i> Genus of lizards

Eutropis is a genus of skinks belonging to the subfamily Mabuyinae. For long, this genus was included in the "wastebin taxon" Mabuya; it contains the Asian mabuyas. They often share their habitat with the related common skinks (Sphenomorphus), but they do not compete significantly as their ecological niches differ. This genus also contains the only member of the subfamily to occur in Australasia, the many-lined sun skink, whose wide range includes New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphenomorphinae</span> Subfamily of skinks

Sphenomorphinae is a large subfamily of skinks, lizards within the family Scincidae. The genera in this subfamily were previously found to belong to the Sphenomorphus group in the large subfamily Lygosominae.

<i>Eutropis cumingi</i> Species of lizard

Eutropis cumingi, also known commonly as Cuming's eared skink, Cuming's mabouya, and Cuming's mabuya, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

Eutropis darevskii, also known commonly as Darevsy's mabouya, Darevsky's mabuya, and Darevsky's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Vietnam.

Maracaiba zuliae is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to northwestern South America.

Marisora berengerae, also known commonly as the San Andrés mabuya and the San Andrés skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to San Andrés, an island in the southwestern Caribbean.

Spondylurus sloanii, also known commonly as Sloane's skink or the Virgin Islands bronze skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

<i>Trachylepis dumasi</i> Species of lizard

Trachylepis dumasi is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.

<i>Trachylepis nancycoutuae</i> Species of lizard

Trachylepis nancycoutuae, also known commonly as Nancy Coutu's mabuya and Nancy Coutu's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.

References

  1. 1 2 Uetz, P.; Freed, P.; Hošek, J. (eds.). "Mabuyinae". The Reptile Database . Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Austin JJ, Arnold EN (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 39 (2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011. PMID   16473026.
  3. 1 2 Carranza S, Arnold EN (2003-08-05). "Investigating the origin of transoceanic distributions: mtDNA shows Mabuya lizards (Reptilia, Scincidae) crossed the Atlantic twice". Systematics and Biodiversity. 1 (2): 275–282. Bibcode:2003SyBio...1..275C. doi:10.1017/S1477200003001099. S2CID   55799145.



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