The African striped skink (''Trachylepis striata''), commonly called the striped skink, is a

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 ...

of lizard in the

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

( Scincidae). The species is widespread in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. It is not a close relation to the Australian striped skink, ''

Ctenotus taeniolatus The copper-tailed ctenotus or copper-tailed skink,''Ctenotus taeniolatus''< ...

''.

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 .Spawls S, Howell KM, Drewes RC (2006). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 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.

References

External links

Striped Skink
Destination Kruger Park *'

* 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. . (''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). Trachylepis Skinks of Africa Reptiles described in 1844 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Lizards of Africa Reptiles of South Africa {{Lygosominae-stub

Description

Geographic range and subspecies

References

External links

Further reading