Trachylepis quinquetaeniata

Five-lined Mabuya
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Trachylepis
Species: T. quinquetaeniata
Binomial name
Trachylepis quinquetaeniata
(Lichtenstein, 1823)
Synonyms

Mabuya quinquetaeniata

The Five-lined Mabuya (Trachylepis quinquetaeniata, formerly Mabuya quinquetaeniata), sometimes called Rainbow Mabuya, blue-tailed Skink (due to the blue tail) or Rainbow Skink is a species of African skink in the subfamily Lygosominae. Trachylepis margaritifera is also known as the Rainbow Skink.

Taxonomy

The species has three subspecies:

Trachylepis quinquetaeniata quinquetaeniata (Lichtenstein, 1823)
Trachylepis quinquetaeniata langheldi (Sternfeld, 1917)
Trachylepis quinquetaeniata riggenbachi (Sternfeld, 1910)

Mabuya quinquetaeniata margaritifera, formerly a subspecies, was elevated to full species in 1998.

Captivity

This species is founded in the reptile trade.

Description

Trachylepis quinquetaeniata is a medium sized lizard reaching a length of about 20 centimetres (7.9 in). The coloration of this species is quite variable, depending on the gender and the age. The scales are glossy, with metallic reflections. The basic colour is usually olive-brown or dark brown, sometimes with pearly whitish spots and with three light olive or dark brown stripes running from the head to the electric blue tail. These stripes may fade and become indistinct in the adults.

The head shows a pointed snout and clearly visible ears holes. Just behind the ear opening, there are some black spots. Legs are dark brown, short and strong, with relatively long toes. The flanks are mainly yellowish and the underside of the body is whitish.

Distribution

It is found in southern Africa.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, August 19, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.