The Kalahari tree skink (Trachylepis spilogaster), or spiny mabuya, is a species of lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is endemic to southern Africa, including Namibia, South Africa, western Botswana, and southern Angola.[1]
| Kalahari tree skink | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Trachylepis |
| Species: | T. spilogaster
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| Binomial name | |
| Trachylepis spilogaster (Peters, 1882)
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| Synonyms | |
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Habitat
editKalahari tree skinks have been found to live around trees that contain the large colonial nests of the sociable weaver. Their numbers are higher in these areas despite a known predator of skinks, the pygmy falcon, also nesting in these trees. It is theorized that the increased opportunity for places of refuge outweigh the risk of predation.[2] Skinks found on colony trees have learned to eavesdrop on sociable weavers to warn of approaching pygmy falcons.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Trachylepis spilogaster". Reptile Database. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- ^ Rymer, Tasmin L; Thomson, Robert L; Whiting, Martin J (Nov 2014). "At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence" (PDF). Austral Ecology. 39 (7): 839–847. doi:10.1111/aec.12152. hdl:2263/43816.
- ^ Lowney, Anthony M; Flower, Tom P; Thomson, Robert L (Jun 2020). "Kalahari skinks eavesdrop on sociable weavers to manage predation by pygmy falcons and expand their realized niche presence". Behavioral Ecology. 31 (5): 1094–1102. doi:10.1093/beheco/araa057.