Trachylepis striata

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African striped skink
African striped skinks (Trachylepis striata) Malolotja.jpg
in Eswatini
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Trachylepis
Species:
T. striata
Binomial name
Trachylepis striata
(W. Peters, 1844)
Synonyms [1]

The African striped skink (Trachylepis striata), 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 .

Contents

Description

T. striata is brown or bronze-coloured with two yellowish stripes that run lengthwise on either side of the spine. Both sexes grow to a total length (including tail) of 25 cm (9.8 in). [2] Their tails are often missing due to predators.

Geographic range and subspecies

Former subspecies T. s. punctatissima , T. s. sparsa , and T. s. wahlbergii have been elevated to species level. [3]

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References

  1. "Trachylepis striata ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Spawls S, Howell KM, Drewes RC (2006). Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
  3. Hallermann, Jakob; Uetz, Peter. "Trachylepis striata (PETERS, 1844)". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 8 January 2016.

Further reading