Cape Skink
| Cape Skink | ||||||||||||
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Cape Skink ( Trachylepis capensis ) |
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| Trachylepis capensis | ||||||||||||
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The Cape Skink ( Trachylepis capensis , Syn .: Mabuya capensis ) is a species of lizard from the Skinke family (Scincidae) that is widespread in South Africa .
features
The Cape Skink becomes relatively large, its head-torso length averages between 8 and 13.5 centimeters. With good nutrition, the cross-section of the body appears rounded, the head is barely separated from the torso, and there is no neck to be seen. The legs, however, are short and thin.
Its basic color is light brown to olive gray-brown with three pale vertical stripes. One of the stripes runs in the middle of the back and is usually slightly wider than the two side stripes. Between these stripes, dark brown to black ribbon or patch-shaped connections run laterally up to the flanks. The belly is uniformly yellowish white or gray. Some specimens are uniformly gray-brown on top, the longitudinal stripes are barely visible.
Occurrence
With the exception of the far north, the Cape Skink is common throughout South Africa. Its distribution area extends to Namibia and Botswana . One relic population is native to Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe , and another in Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia .
Way of life
The ground-living Cape Skink can be found in the gardens of houses in South Africa. It likes to hide between stones or below roots, where it also digs small tunnels, and it can also be found on rubble heaps and under rubbish. Although its life is rather hidden, the Cape Skink is not very shy of humans and can sometimes even be hand-fed. In urban areas, domestic cats are one of its main enemies. He is an active hunter himself and feeds on large insects.
The Cape skinks reproduce ovoviviparously , which means that no eggs are laid, but rather they are hatched in the womb. The young hatch in the mother's body, in late summer it gives birth to 5 to 18 young.
Taxonomy
The Cape Skink was described by Gray as Tiliqua capensis in 1831 and was placed in the genus Mabuya by FitzSimons in 1943 . In 2002, phylogenetic studies led to a splitting of the worldwide common genus Mabuya into the genera Euprepis , Eutropis , Chioninia and Mabuya (in the narrower sense). The Cape Skink was placed in the genus Euprepis along with other species . In 2003, Aaron M. Bauer stated that Euprepis was not a valid name within the framework of the ICZN's nomenclature rules and suggested the generic name Trachylepis for the African and Malagasy species . The species name capensis is reminiscent of the location of the type specimen at the Cape of Good Hope .
literature
- John Edward Gray : A synopsis of the species of Class Reptilia. In: Griffith, E & E. Pidgeon: The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization by the Baron Cuvier with additional descriptions of all the species hither named, and of many before noticed. Whittaker, Treacher and Co., London (1830) 1831 (first description)
- Patrick Mausfeld, Miguel Vences, Andreas Schmitz, Michael Veith: First data on the molecular phylogeography of scincid lizards of the genus Mabuya. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 17, 1, pp. 11-14, 2000
Web links
- Trachylepis capensis in The Reptile Database
- Cape Skink / Kaapse Skink Survey of Cederberg Amphibians and Reptile for Conservation and Ecotourism (accessed March 31, 2013)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Cape Skink / Kaapse Skink Survey of Cederberg Amphibians and Reptile for Conservation and Ecotourism (accessed March 31, 2013)
- ↑ Trachylepis capensis in The Reptile Database ; accessed on March 31, 2013.
- ^ Warren Schmidt: Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, 2006, p. 74 ISBN 1-77007-342-6
- ^ VF FitzSimons: The lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No. 1, Pretoria 1943
- ↑ Patrick Mausfeld, Andreas Schmitz, Wolfgang Böhme, Bernhard Misof, Davor Vrcibradic, Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha: Phylogenetic Affinities of Mabuya atlantica Schmidt, 1945, Endemic to the Atlantic Ocean Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (Brazil): Necessity of Partitioning the Genus Mabuya Fitzinger, 1826 (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Zoologischer Anzeiger, 241, 3, pp. 281-293, 2002
- ^ Aaron M. Bauer: On the identity of Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1758, the type species of the genus Euprepis Wagler, 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro-Malagasy skinks. African Journal of Herpetology, 52, pp. 1-7, 2003