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.Miralles A, Chaparro JC, Harvey MB (2009). "Three rare and enigmatic South American skinks". Zootaxa 2012: 47–68. 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 (listed alphabetically by specific name).Trachylepis. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Trachylepis acutilabris – wedge-snouted skink, sharp-lipped mabuya Trachylepis adamastor – Adamastor skink Trachylepis affinis – Senegal mabuya Trachylepis albilabris – Guinea mabuya Trachylepis albotaeniata – Pemba Island mabuya Trachylepis atlantica – Noronha 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 binotata – Ovambo tree skink, Bocage's mabuya Trachylepis bocagii – Bocage's skink Trachylepis boehmei – Böhme'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 casuarinae – Casuarina Island skink Trachylepis chimbana – Chimba skink, Chimban mabuya Trachylepis comorensis – Comoro Island skink Trachylepis cristinae – Abd Al Kuri skink Trachylepis damarana – Damara skink Trachylepis depressa – eastern sand skink Trachylepis dichroma – two-coloured skink Trachylepis dumasi Trachylepis elegans – elegant mabuya Trachylepis ferrarai – Ferrara's mabuya Trachylepis gonwouoi – Gonwouo’s skink Trachylepis gravenhorstii – Gravenhorst's mabuyaBeolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Mabuya gravenhorstii, p. 106). Trachylepis hemmingi – Somali mabuya
Trachylepis hildebrandtii – Hildebrandt’s skink Trachylepis hoeschi – Hoesch's mabuya Trachylepis homalocephala – red-sided skink Trachylepis infralineata Trachylepis irregularis – alpine meadow mabuya
Trachylepis keroanensis – Teita mabuya Trachylepis lacertiformis – bronze rock skink Trachylepis laevigata – variable skink, striped-neck variable skink Trachylepis laevis – Angolan 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 monardi – Monard’s skink Trachylepis nancycoutuae Trachylepis nganghae Trachylepis occidentalis – western three-striped skink Trachylepis ozorii Trachylepis paucisquamis – tropical mabuya Trachylepis pendeana Trachylepis perrotetii – Teita mabuya, African red-sided skink Trachylepis planifrons – tree skink Trachylepis polytropis – tropical mabuya Trachylepis pulcherrima – beautiful skink Trachylepis punctatissima – montane speckled skink, speckled rock skink Trachylepis punctulata – speckled sand skink, speckled skink Trachylepis quinquetaeniata – African 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 sparsa – Karasburg tree skink Trachylepis spilogaster – Kalahari tree skink, spiny mabuya Trachylepis striata – African striped mabuya, striped skink Trachylepis sulcata – western 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 wingati – Wingate’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.
References
Further reading Fitzinger L (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Trachylepis, new genus, p. 22). (in Latin).