| Trachylepis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Trachylepis striata | |
 | |
| Trachylepis maculilabris mating | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Subfamily: | Mabuyinae |
| Genus: | Trachylepis Fitzinger, 1843 |
| Species | |
About 80, see text | |
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. [1] The ancestors of T. atlantica are believed to have rafted across the Atlantic from Africa during the last 9 million years. [2]
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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. [3]
