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Trachylepis atlantica (SCHMIDT, 1945)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Mabuyinae (Mabuyini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesPortuguese: Mabuia-de-Noronha 
SynonymTiliqua punctata GRAY 1839: 289
Mabouya punctatissima O’SHAUGHNESSY 1874 (not SMITH 1849)
Mabuya atlantica SCHMIDT 1945 (nom. subst. for Mabuya punctata)
Trachylepis (Xystrolepis) punctata TSCHUDI 1845 (fide TRAVASSOS 1946)
Mabuya punctata — TRAVASSOS 1946
Mabuya atlantica — WHITING et al. 2006
Trachylepis tschudii MIRALLES et al. 2009 (nom. nov. pro Trachylepis punctata)
Trachylepis atlantica — MIRALLES et al. 2009
Trachylepis atlantica — LYRA & VENCES 2018 
DistributionBrazil (archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, 200 km off the northeast Brazilian coast)

Type locality: Fernando de Noronha, Brazil [Tiliqua punctata GRAY 1839]  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesLectotype: BMNH 1946.8.27.47 (formerly xv.99a), collected H.M.S. Chanticleer. Designated by Travasos (1948), identity confirmed by Miralles et al. (2012).
Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.18.40 [punctatissima] 
Diagnosis 
CommentVariation: Specimens from Fernando de Noronha differ from other Mabuya species in numerous morphological features, especially strongly keeled dorsal scales, uniform coloration without a trace of striping, and unusually high dorsal, ventral and midbody scale counts (e.g. Dunn, 1935; Peters and Donoso-Barros, 1970). As a result, they have been linked to the Cape Verde Islands Mabuya species, rather than to any of the New World congeners (e.g. Dunn 1935; Horton 1973).

Synonymy: Dunn (1935) synonymized M. maculata with M. mabouya mabouya (Lacépède, 1788). Mabuya mabouya mabouya, as defined by Dunn, is now known to represent a composite of several different species (e.g. Avila-Pires, 1995). The name Tiliqua punctata GRAY 1839 is preoccupied by Lacerta punctata LINNAEUS. Tiliqua punctata Gray is a homonym of Lacerta punctata Linnaeus [currently considered a junior synonym of Trachylepis homalocephala (Wiegmann) ], hence Miralles et al. 2009 proposed Trachylepis tschudii as a nomen novum. However, they also state that Trachylepis tschudii is a junior synonym of T. atlantica.

Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). 
EtymologyNamed after Latin atlantica, belonging to Atlantic, one of the five oceans; from Greek Atlantikôi pelágei (Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει), the Sea of Atlas, being Atlas (Ἄτλας), one of the titans in Greek mythology. (SCHMIDT 1945, Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024) 
References
  • Avila-Pires, T.C.S. 1995. Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). Zoologische Verhandelingen 299: 1-706 - get paper here
  • Bezerra, P. E. S., Santana, F. M., & de Moura, G. J. B. 2021. Sustainability assessment of a lizard assemblage in Pernambuco state, Brazil. Journal for Nature Conservation, 125957
  • DIELE-VIEGAS, L. M., T. FILADELFO, L. A. DE MENEZES, G. COELHO, C. LICARIAO, AND C. F. DUARTE ROCHA 2020. Trachylepis atlantica (Noronha Skink). Toe Loss. Herpetological Review 51: 133-134.
  • Dunn, Emmett Reid 1935. Notes on American Mabuyas. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 87: 533-560 - get paper here
  • Finley Jr., R.B. 1945. Notes on Lizards from Fernando Noronha. Copeia 1945 (3): 162-164 - get paper here
  • Gonzalez R. C. et al. 2020. Lista dos Nomes Populares dos Répteis no Brasil – Primeira Versão. Herpetologia Brasileira 9 (2): 121 – 214 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1839. Catalogue of the slender-tongued saurians, with descriptions of many new genera and species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 2 (11): 331-337 [continued from page 293] - get paper here
  • HORTON, D. R. 1973. Evolution in the genus Mabuya (Lacertilia, Scincidae). Unpubl. Ph.D.Thesis, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
  • Lyra, M. L. & M. Vences 2018. Preliminary assessment of mitochondrial variation in the insular endemic, biogeographically enigmatic Noronha skink, Trachylepis atlantica (Squamata: Scincidae). pp. Salamandra 54 (3): 229-232 - get paper here
  • Mausfeld, P. & D. Vrcibradic 2002. On the nomenclature of the skink (Mabuya) endemic to the Western Atlantic Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 36 (2): 292-295 - get paper here
  • Mausfeld, Patrick; Andreas SCHMITZ; Wolfgang BÖHME; Bernhard MISOF; Davor VRCIBRADIC; Carlos Frederico Duarte ROCHA 2002. 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). Zool. Anz. 241: 281–293 - get paper here
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • Migliore, S. N., Braz, H. B., Gasparotto, V. P., Dias, R. and Almeida-Santos, S. M. 2020. Trachylepis atlantica (Noronha skink). Reproduction. Herpetological Review 51: 132-133. - get paper here
  • Miralles, A.; Chaparro, J.C. & Harvey, M.B. 2009. Three rare and enigmatic South American skinks. Zootaxa 2012: 47–68 - get paper here
  • Neto, A. M. S., Mendes, D. M. M., Sobral, R. and Rafael, J. A. 2020. Trachylepis atlantica (Noronha skink). Nest site and hatchling. Herpetological Review 51: 132 - get paper here
  • O’Shaughnessy,A.W.E. 1874. A description of a new species of Scincidae in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 13: 298-301 - get paper here
  • PERON DE OLIVEIRA GASPAROTTO, VINICIUS; SERENA NAJARA MIGLIORE, RAFAEL PINHEIRO, RICARDO AUGUSTO DIAS & SELMA MARIA DE ALMEIDA-SANTOS. 2021. Agonistic and mating behaviour of the endemic lizard Trachylepis atlantica from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil. The Herpetological Bulletin (158). - get paper here
  • Ribeiro, P. & Oliveira, R.M. 2018. Trachylepis atlantica (Noronha Skink) Cannibalism attempt. Herpetological Review 49 (1): 122. - get paper here
  • Rocha, C.F.D., D. Vrcibradic, V.A. Menezes & C.V. Ariani 2009. Ecology and Natural History of the Easternmost Native Lizard Species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernano de Noronha Archipelago, Brazil Journal of Herpetology 43 (3): 450-459. - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Karl P. 1945. A new name for a Brazilian Mabuya. Copeia 1945 (1): 45 - get paper here
  • SILVA NETO, A. M., D. M. DE MELLO MENDES, R. SOBRAL, J. C. OLIVEIRA, AND J. A. RAFAEL 2020. Trachylepis atlantica (Noronha Skink). Nectivory And Pollination. Herpetological Review 51: 605-606.
  • Travassos, Haroldo 1946. Estudo da variação de Mabuya punctata (Gray, 1839) (Ordem Squamata Oppel, 1811 - Fam. Scincidae Gray, 1825). Boletim do Museu Nacional—Zoologia (60): 1-56
  • Whiting, Alison S.; Jack W. Sites, Jr., Katia C.M. Pellegrino and Miguel T. Rodrigues 2006. Comparing alignment methods for inferring the history of the new world lizard genus Mabuya (Squamata: Scincidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38 (3): 719-730 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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