''Mabuya'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of long-tailed skinks restricted to

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

from various Caribbean islands. They are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the ...

, having a highly evolved

placenta The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mate ...

that resembles that of

eutheria Eutheria (; from Greek , 'good, right' and , 'beast'; ) is the clade consisting of all therian mammals that are more closely related to placentals than to marsupials. Eutherians are distinguished from noneutherians by various phenotypic tra ...

n mammals. Formerly, many Old World species were placed here, as ''Mabuya'' was a kind of "

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

". These Old World species are now placed in the genera '' Chioninia'', ''

Eutropis ''Eutropis'' is a genus of skinks belonging to the subfamily Mabuyinae. For long, this genus was included in the " wastebin taxon" ''Mabuya''; it contains the Asian mabuyas. They often share their habitat with the related common skinks (''Sph ...

'', and ''

Trachylepis ''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 ...

''. Under the older classification, the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

species were referred to as "American mabuyas", and now include the genera ''

Alinea Alinea may refer to: * Alinea (restaurant) in Chicago * In several languages : an indenting or a pilcrow The pilcrow, ¶, is a handwritten or typographical character used to identify a paragraph. It is also called the paragraph ma ...

'', ''

Aspronema ''Aspronema'' is a genus of skinks. Species The following 2 species, listed alphabetically by specific name, are recognized as being valid: *'' Aspronema cochabambae'' (Dunn, 1935) *'' Aspronema dorsivittatum'' (Cope, 1862) – Paraguay mabuy ...

'', ''

Brasiliscincus ''Brasiliscincus'' is a genus of skinks. Species are endemic to Brazil. Species were previously placed in the genus ''Mabuya''. Species The following 3 species, listed alphabetically by Specific name (zoology), specific name, are recognized as b ...

'', ''

Capitellum In human anatomy of the arm, the capitulum of the humerus is a smooth, rounded eminence on the lateral portion of the distal articular surface of the humerus. It articulates with the cupshaped depression on the head of the radius, and is limite ...

'', ''

Maracaiba ''Maracaiba'' is a genus of skinks. Species The following 2 species, listed alphabetically by specific name, are recognized as being valid: *'' Maracaiba meridensis'' () *'' Maracaiba zuliae'' () ''Nota bene'': A binomial authority In ...

'', '' Marisora'', '' Varzea'', and '' Copeoglossum''. Most species in this genus are feared to be

possibly extinct The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

due to introduced predators.

Species

Listed alphabetically by specific name.''Mabuya''
The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Mabuya cochonae'' – Cochon's skink (possibly extinct) *'' Mabuya desiradae'' – Désirade skink *'' Mabuya dominicana'' – Dominica skink *'' Mabuya grandisterrae'' – Grande-Terre skink (possibly extinct) *'' Mabuya guadeloupae'' – Guadeloupe skink (possibly extinct) *'' Mabuya hispaniolae'' – Hispaniolan two-lined skink (possibly extinct) *''

Mabuya mabouya The Greater Martinique skink (''Mabuya mabouya'') is a species of skink found on Martinique. It has shiny, bronze-colored skin, with a pair of light stripes that run along its upper flanks. It was previously thought to be widespread throughou ...

'' – Greater Martinique skink (possibly extinct) *'' Mabuya montserratae'' – Montserrat skink (possibly extinct) *'' Mabuya parviterrae'' – Petite Terre skink ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Mabuya''.

References

External links

* *
''Mabuya'' by Cyberlizard
at web.archive.org. Skinks Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger Lizard genera {{Lygosominae-stub

Species

References

Further reading

External links