Trachylepis atlantica

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Trachylepis atlantica
Trachylepis atlantica

Trachylepis atlantica

Systematics
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Scincomorpha (Scincoidea)
Family : Skinks (Scincidae)
Subfamily : Mabuyinae
Genre : Trachylepis
Type : Trachylepis atlantica
Scientific name
Trachylepis atlantica
( Schmidt , 1945)

The Noronha skink ( Trachylepis atlantica ) is a species of lizard from the skink family , which is native to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago on the northeast coast of Brazil .

features

The Noronha skink is covered with light and dark points that vary greatly in color. The scales on the underside are yellowish or grayish. It has a small head with small nostrils that are placed very far forward on the sides of the head. The mouth contains small, conical teeth and a thin but well-formed tongue. The eyes are small and arranged to the side and have dark, rounded irides . The eyelids are white to yellow. On the front of the ears there are three to five well-formed earlobes , which are missing in real Mabuyen . The rear limbs are longer and stronger than the front limbs, which are relatively small. The tail is longer than the body and muscular, but quite brittle. It is roughly cylindrical and tapers towards the end. The total length of the skink is 7 to 10 cm.

Way of life

Noronha skinks are widespread on Fernando de Noronha, often found in houses and on smaller islands surrounding the main island of the archipelago. Their frequent occurrence can be explained by the lack of food competition . In addition to T. atlantica , the reptile fauna of Fernando de Noronha also includes the indigenous ring lizard Amphisbaena ridleyi and two immigrated lizard species, the gecko Hemidactylus mabouia and the black and white Teju .

The skink species is found in several microhabitats , but most commonly on rocks. Although she lives mostly on the ground, she is a good climber. Nothing is known about their reproduction except that skinks show little activity during the dry season in late October / early November. The Noronha skink is egg-laying, like many Trachylepis, but in contrast to Mabuyen, which are viviparous.

T. atlantica are active during the daytime. Their body temperature averages 32 ° C, which is a few degrees higher than the ambient temperature. In the middle of the day, the body temperature rises to 38 ° C. In the early morning hours, the lizard warms up in the sun. While foraging, she spends an average of 28.4% of her time on the move, which is a relatively high figure for trachylepis.

The skink is an adapted omnivore that feeds on insects and plants as well as on the nectar of Erythrina velutina and eggs of its own species.

Its enemies include introduced species such as the house cat .

Taxonomy

Trachylepis atlantica is the only New World representative of the genus, the species could have reached the South American archipelago by means of ocean currents .

The lizard species was first described by John Edward Gray in 1839 . The history of their taxonomy is varied. In particular, it was confused with Trachylepis maculata . According to more recent assumptions, it could be identical to the species Trachylepis tschudii described from Peru (under the synonym: Mabuya punctata ) , of which only the type specimen is available so far and for which a mix-up of location cannot be excluded.

Synonyms
  • Tiliqua punctata ( Gray , 1839)
  • Euprepis punctatus (Gray, 1839)
  • Mabuia punctata (Gray, 1839)
  • Mabuya punctata (Gray, 1839)
  • Trachylepis (Xystrolepis) punctata ( Tschudi , 1845?)
  • Mabouya punctatissima ( O'Shaughnessy , 1874 nec Smith , 1849)
  • Mabuya maculata ( Andersson , 1900)
  • Mabuya atlantica ( Schmidt , 1945)
  • Euprepis atlanticus (Schmidt, 1945)

literature

  • AM 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 . In: African Journal of Herpetology , vol. 52, 2003, pp. 1-7.
  • CE Burt, MD Burt: South American lizards in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History . In: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History , vol. 61, 1931, p. 302.
  • John E. Gray: Catalog of the slender-tongued saurians, with the description of many new genera and species . In: Annals and Magazine of Natural History , vol. 2, 1839, pp. 287-293.
  • John E. Gray: Catalog of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum . Trustees of the British Museum, London 1845, p. 111.
  • P. Mausfeld, D. Vrcibradic: On the nomenclature of the skink (Mabuya) endemic to the western Atlantic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha . In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 36, Brazil 2002, pp. 292-295.
  • KP Schmidt: A new name for a Brazilian Mabuya . In: Copeia , vol. 1945, 1945, p. 45.

Web links

Commons : Trachylepis atlantica  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b E. R. Dunn: Notes on American Mabuyas . In: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia , vol. 87, 1935, p. 536.
  2. ↑ P. Mausfeld, D. Vrcibradic: On the nomenclature of the skink (Mabuya) endemic to the western Atlantic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 36, Brazil 2002, p. 293.
  3. ^ RB Finley: Notes on lizards from Fernando Noronha . In: Copeia 1945 (3) , 1945, p. 164.
  4. ↑ a b H. Travassos: Estudo da variação de Mabuya punctata (Gray, 1839). In: Boletim do Museu Nacional (Zoologia) 60 , 1946, p. 8.
  5. ↑ A. Miralles et al .: Three rare and enigmatic South American skinks . In: Zootaxa 2012 , 2009, p. 57.
  6. ↑ CFD Rocha et al .: Ecology and natural history of the easternmost native lizard species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago . In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 43, Brazil 2009, p. 454.
  7. ↑ JM Silva et al .: Euprepis atlanticus (Noronha Skink). Predation. In: Herpetological Review 36 , 2005, pp. 62-63.
  8. ^ HN Ridley: Notes on the zoology of Fernando Noronha. In: Journal of the Linnean Society: Zoology 20 , 1888, p. 476.
  9. ↑ CFD Rocha et al .: Ecology and natural history of the easternmost native lizard species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago . In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 43, Brazil 2009, p. 458.
  10. ↑ CFD Rocha et al .: Ecology and natural history of the easternmost native lizard species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago . In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 43, Brazil 2009, p. 450.
  11. ^ A b C. FD Rocha et al .: Ecology and natural history of the easternmost native lizard species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago . In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 43, Brazil 2009, p. 453.
  12. ^ I. Sazima, C. Sazima, M. Sazima: Little dragons prefer flowers to maidens: A lizard that laps nectar and pollinates trees . In: Biota Neotropical , vol. 5, 2005, p. 7.
  13. ↑ CFD Rocha et al .: Ecology and natural history of the easternmost native lizard species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago . In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 43, Brazil 2009, pp. 452, 457.
  14. ↑ P. Mausfeld, D. Vrcibradic: On the nomenclature of the skink (Mabuya) endemic to the western Atlantic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. In: Journal of Herpetology , vol. 36, Brazil 2002, pp. 289-290.
  15. ^ I. Sazima, C. Sazima, M. Sazima: Little dragons prefer flowers to maidens: A lizard that laps nectar and pollinates trees . In: Biota Neotropical , vol. 5, 2005, pp. 1-8.
  16. ↑ JM, Jr. Silva, AK, Jr. Péres, I. Sazima: Euprepis atlanticus (Noronha Skink). Predation . In: Herpetological Review , vol. 36, 2005, table 1.
  17. ↑ ACO Ramalho, RJ da Silva, HO Schwartz, AK Jr. Péres: Helminths from an introduced species (Tupinambis merianae), and two endemic species (Trachylepis atlantica and Amphisbaena ridleyi) from Fernando de Noronha archipelago . In: Journal of Parasitology , vol. 95, Brazil 2009, pp. 1026-1027.
  18. Jump up ↑ Aurelien Miralles, Juan Carlos Chaparro, Michael B. Harvey: Three rare and enigmatic South American skinks. In: Zootaxa vol. 2012, 2009, pp. 47-68.