Trachylepis quinquetaeniata

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Trachylepis quinquetaeniata
Trachylepis quinquetaeniata.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Trachylepis
Species:
T. quinquetaeniata
Binomial name
Trachylepis quinquetaeniata
(Lichtenstein, 1823)
Synonyms

Mabuya quinquetaeniata

The African five-lined skink (Trachylepis quinquetaeniata, formerly Mabuya quinquetaeniata), or rainbow mabuya, is a north-central African species of skink lizard.

Contents

T. margaritifera is another closely related skink species that is also called the "rainbow skink" (although it occurs primarily in Eastern Africa); T. margaritifera, overall, possesses more colourful, "rainbow"-like scales (as opposed to the predominantly blue, black and yellowish five-lined skink, T. quinquetaeniata).

Taxonomy

The African five-lined skink has two subspecies:

Trachylepis margaritifera , formerly treated as a subspecies of T. quinquetaeniata, was elevated to full species status in 1998.

Description

Trachylepis quinquetaeniata is a smaller- to medium-sized lizard, maturing to a length of about 20 centimetres (7.9 in). The colour of this skink is quite variable, depending on the lizard's gender, its age and the time of the year. As with most skinks, its scales are glossy, shiny, and the body is rather smooth to the touch, with a 'metallic', reflective quality. The base scale colouration is usually olive-brown or dark brown, sometimes with small, pearly-whitish spots, with three light-olive or dark-brown stripes running from the head to the bright, electric-blue tail. These stripes may fade and become indistinct with age.

The head features a pointed snout and clearly visible ear openings. Just behind the ears are usually small, black spots. The limbs are darker black or brown, short and strong, with relatively long toes. The flanks are mainly yellowish or beige, and the underside of the body is whitish. Their overall appearance is quite similar to several types of North American, blue-tailed and striped skinks, such as Plestiodon skiltonianus (also known as the western, the five-lined or the blue-lined skink, or Coronado's skink).

Distribution

The species is found from Egypt [1] to Mali in Northern Africa, and its range stretches southwards into Southern Africa. It has been found in many countries and territories across the African continent; it is also considered an invasive species in Florida. [2]

Captivity

The African five-lined skink is occasionally found in private collections and in the reptile and pet trade, though its popularity is fairly minimal; the species is not nearly as popular as other pet reptiles or lizard species, such as crested or leopard geckos, or blue-tongued skinks. Still, it is believed that a group of escapee or released pet skinks—likely containing some gravid females—are responsible for sightings in Florida [3] and, recently, Southern California; [4] their effects on the endemic species of American five-lined skinks is not yet well-understood.

Habitat

These skinks are found in both rocky and grassland habitats. They tend to make their homes on trees, but also can be found using manmade structures for this purpose. [3]

Behavior

Diet

This species' preferred prey are invertebrates, mainly arthropods, such as various ants, beetles, butterflies, crickets, flies, grasshoppers, moths, spiders, termites and occasional worms or larvae, with few to no differences between the diets of males and females. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Plestiodon fasciatus</i> Species of reptile

The (American) five-lined skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to North America. It is one of the most common lizards in the eastern U.S. and one of the seven native species of lizards in Canada.

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

Eutropis multifasciata, commonly known as the East Indian brown mabuya, many-lined sun skink, many-striped skink, common sun skink or (ambiguously) as golden skink, is a species of skink that inhabits an extensive range from India and southern China to southern Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gran Canaria skink</span> Species of lizard

The Gran Canaria skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.

<i>Trachylepis</i> Genus of lizards

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright's skink</span> Species of lizard

Wright's skink, also known commonly as Wright's mabuya, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Seychelles. There are two recognized subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common flat lizard</span> Species of lizard

The common flat lizard is a species of lizard in the Cordylidae family. This lizard has 9 subspecies, all living in southern Africa.

Rainbow skink may refer to:

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

The rainbow skink is a species of Afro-Malagasy mabuya or skink in the subfamily Lygosominae.

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

The African striped skink, commonly called the striped skink, is a species of lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is widespread in East Africa and Southern Africa. It is not a close relation to the Australian striped skink, Ctenotus taeniolatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noronha skink</span> Species of skink

The Noronha skink is a species of skink from the island of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. It is covered with dark and light spots on the upperparts and is usually about 7 to 10 cm in length. The tail is long and muscular, but breaks off easily. Very common throughout Fernando de Noronha, it is an opportunistic feeder, eating both insects and plant material, including nectar from the Erythrina velutina tree, as well as other material ranging from cookie crumbs to eggs of its own species. Introduced predators such as feral cats prey on it and several parasitic worms infect it.

Trachylepis tschudii is an enigmatic skink, purportedly from Peru. First described in 1845 on the basis of a single specimen, it may be the same as the Noronha skink (T. atlantica) from Fernando de Noronha, off northeastern Brazil. T. tschudii represents one of two doubtful records of the otherwise African genus Trachylepis on mainland South America; the other is T. maculata from Guyana.

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

Trachylepis capensis is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

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

Trachylepis homalocephala, commonly known as the red-sided skink, is a small, slender species of skink in the subfamily Mabuyinae.

Blue-tailed skink may refer to:

Trachylepis bayonii, also known commonly as Bayão's skink, Bayon's mabuya, and Bayon's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Africa. There are two subspecies.

<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 gravenhorstii</i> Species of lizard

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

Trachylepis hoeschi, also known commonly as Hoesch's mabuya and Hoesch's skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Mabuyinae of the family Scincidae. The species is native to southwestern Africa.

References

  1. ↑ Baha El Din, Sherif (2006). A Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN   978-9774249792.
  2. ↑ "Comprehensive Report Species - Trachylepis quinquetaeniata". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  3. 1 2 Krysko, K. L., S. A. Johnson, K. E. Giddens, K. H. Gielow, T. S. Lowke, W. M. Moore, E. Suarez, C. D. Thomas, A. S. Shoeslon, J. P. Burgess, C. A. Smith, and B. A. Garner. 2010. The African five-lined skink, Trachylepis quinquetaeniata (Lichtenstein 1823): a new established species in Florida. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 17(3):183-184
  4. ↑ Pauly, G. B. and Gavit, P.D. 2019. Geographic distribution: USA, California, Los Angeles County: Trachylepis quinquetaeniata. Herpetological Review, 50(1):103-104
  5. ↑ Dendi, Daniele; Segniagbeto, Gabriel H.; Di Vittorio, Massimiliano; Luiselli, Luca (2019-01-01). "Are diet diversity metrics influenced more by rainfall or by temperature in an Afrotropical Scincid Lizard?". Ecological Research. 34 (1): 68–73. doi: 10.1111/1440-1703.1001 . ISSN   0912-3814.


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