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.
| African striped skink | |
|---|---|
_Malolotja.jpg)
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| in Eswatini | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Trachylepis |
| Species: | T. striata
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| Binomial name | |
| Trachylepis striata (W. Peters, 1844)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description
editT. 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
editFormer subspecies T. s. punctatissima, T. s. sparsa, and T. s. wahlbergii have been elevated to species level.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Trachylepis striata ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Spawls S, Howell KM, Drewes RC (2006). Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- ^ Hallermann, Jakob; Uetz, Peter. "Trachylepis striata (PETERS, 1844)". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
External links
edit- Striped Skink, Destination Kruger Park
Media related to Trachylepis striata at Wikimedia Commons
Further reading
edit- Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Mabuia striata, pp. 204–205; Mabuia wahlbergii, pp. 205–206).
- Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Mabuya striata, pp. 156–157 + Plate 54).
- Peters W (1844). "Über einege neue Fische und Amphibien aus Angola und Mozambique ". Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1844: 32–37. (Tropidolepisma striatum, new species, pp. 36–37). (in German).