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Trachylepis margaritifer (PETERS, 1854)

IUCN Red List - Trachylepis margaritifer - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Mabuyinae (Mabuyini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Rainbow skink
G: Blauschwanzskink 
SynonymEuprepes margaritifer PETERS 1854: 618
Mabuia obsti WERNER 1913: 43
Mabuya obsti — LOVERIDGE 1923
Mabuia quinquetaeniata — WITTE 1933
Mabuya quinquetaeniata obsti — LOVERIDGE 1936: 68
Mabuya quinquetaeniata obsti — BROADLEY 1962
Mabuya quinquetaeniata margaritifer — BROADLEY 1962
Mabuya quinquetaeniata margaritifer — PIENAAR 1978
Mabuya quinquetaeniata margaritifer — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 15
Mabuya margaritifer — BRANCH 1993
Mabuya quinquetaeniata margaritifer — BAUER et al. 1995: 62
Mabuya margaritifera — BROADLEY & BAUER 1999
Euprepis margaritiferus — MAUSFELD et al. 2002
Trachylepis margaritifera — BAUER 2003
Trachylepis margaritifer — BRANCH et al. 2005
Mabuya margaritifer — COOPER 2005
Trachylepis margaritifer — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 142
Trachylepis margaritifer — PIETERSEN et al. 2021
Trachylepis margaritifer — STANDER 2023: 222 
DistributionKenya, Malawi, Tanzania, south to Natal, Republic of South Africa, west through the Transvaal and Zimbabwe to eastern Botswana, E Zambia, W Mozambique

Type locality: Tete, Mozambique.
Type locality: Kwa Mtoro, Usandawi, Tanzania [obsti]  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesSyntypes: ZMB 1232, 1232A-D, 3967, 3967A, 3968-9, 9396, 9396A-C 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 396 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: records from Uganda (as in Broadly & Howell 1991: 15) may be in error and actually refer to M. quinquetaeniata s.str. Not listed for Uganda in Kingdon & Branch 2010. See Map in Broadley & Bauer 1998: 51. 
EtymologyApparently named after Latin margarita = pearl, for the small white spots. 
References
  • Abdelkarim, A. A., Kanno, I. O., & Musa, F. I. 2024. Observation on identification of birds and reptile in Taya-Basonda–Al galabat National Park, Gedaref state-Sudan. Journal for Nature Conservation, 126614 - get paper here
  • Barnes, Keith 2016. Animals of Kruger National Park. Princeton University Press, ca. 180 pp. - get paper here
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • Bittencourt-Silva GB, Bayliss J, Conradie W. 2020. First herpetological surveys of Mount Lico and Mount Socone, Mozambique. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 14(2) [General Section]: 198–217 (e247) - get paper here
  • Branch, W.R.; Rödel, M.-O. & Marais, J. 2005. Herpetological survey of the Niassa Game Reserve, northern Mozambique - Part I: Reptiles. Salamandra 41 (4): 195-214 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Broadley, D.G. 2000. A review of the genus Mabuya in southeastern Africa (Sauria: Scincidae). African Journal of Herpetology, 49 (2): 87-110 - get paper here
  • Broadley, Donald G. and Aaron M. Bauer 1999. A review of the Mabuya quinquetaeniata complex in East Africa (Sauria: Scincidae). African Journal of Herpetology 47 (2): 43-58 [1998] - get paper here
  • Buruwate, T. C., & Lloyd-Jones, D. J. 2024. Amphibian and Reptile Diversity of Niassa Special Reserve, Northern Mozambique. Journal of East African Natural History, 113(1), 1-18 - get paper here
  • CONRADIE, W., ENGELBRECHT, H., HERREL, A., MEASEY, G.J., NIELSEN, S.V., V ANHOOYDONCK, B., & TOLLEY, K.A. 2011. Reptile survey of Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province - South Africa. African Herp News (55): 6-12 - get paper here
  • Conradie, Werner; Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva, Hanlie M. Engelbrecht, Simon P. Loader, Michele Menegon, Cristóvão Nanvonamuquitxo, Michael Scott, Krystal A. Tolley 2016. Exploration into the hidden world of Mozambique’s sky island forests: new discoveries of reptiles and amphibians. Zoosyst. Evol. 92 (2): 163–180, DOI 10.3897/zse.92.9948 - get paper here
  • Cooper Jr., W.E. 2005. Duration of movement as a lizard foraging movement variable. Herpetologica 61 (4): 363-372 - get paper here
  • Farooq, Harith; Cristóvão Nanvonamuquitxo, Bibiana Nassongole, Werner Conradie, Roger Bills, Amadeu Soares, and Alexandre Antonelli 2022. Shedding Light on a Biodiversity Dark Spot: Survey Of Amphibians and Reptiles of Pemba Region in Northern Mozambique. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 17 (2): - get paper here
  • Fuchs, Niklas 2023. Unter Pflanzenökologen – ein Einblick in die Habitate und Herpetofauna des Krüger-Nationalparks in Südafrika. Elaphe 2024 (1): 44-
  • Grubermann, M. 2013. Einige fotografische Beobachtungen an Agamen in Kenia, Tansania, Malawi, Südafrika und Namibia. Iguana 26 (1): 23-33
  • Haagner,G.V.; Branch,W.R. & Haagner,A.J.F. 2000. Notes on a collection of reptiles from Zambia and adjacent areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Annals of the Eastern Cape Museum 1: 1 – 25
  • Herz, M. 2013. Herpetologische Eindrücke auf Safaris in Ostafrika. Reptilia (Münster) 18 (104): 81- - get paper here
  • Kober, I. 2015. Weihnachten im Busch. Reptilien und mehr auf Makutsi (Südafrika). Reptilia (Münster) 20 (116): 68-79 - get paper here
  • Kober, I. 2018. Heia Safari – Echsen am Wegesrand auf einer Reise durch Südafrika, Simbabwe und Botswana. Reptilia 23 (131): 68-79
  • Loveridge, A. 1923. Notes on East African lizards collected 1920-1923 with the description of two new races of Agama lionotus Blgr. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1923: 935-969 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1936. African reptiles and amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago, 22 (1): 1-122 - get paper here
  • Manhice, A. C., Simões, C. E., & Zondane, M. L. 2020. Diversity of Amphibians and Reptiles at Chiremera Locality, Vanduzi-Mozambique. Asian Journal of Biology, 49-55
  • Mausfeld,P.; Vences, M. Schmitz, A. & Veith, M. 2000. First data on the molecular phylogeography of scincid lizards of the genus Mabuya. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 17 (1): 11-14 - get paper here
  • Miguel, A. R., Kaiser, H., Vargas, N. D., & Borges-Martins, M. 2024. Diversity and natural history of reptiles from coastal environments in Gilé National Park, northern Mozambique. Herpetology Notes, 17, 173-199
  • Muchai, Vincent & Patrick Malonza 2011. The reptiles and amphibians of Kibwezi Forest, Ngulia and Chyulu Hills. Kenya Past and Present (39): 45-49 - get paper here
  • Perry, Gad 2022. The Black Mambas of the Balule Nature Reserve and Other Notes on the Limpopo Region of Southern Africa. REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS 29: 17–24 - get paper here
  • Peters,W.C.H. 1854. Diagnosen neuer Batrachier, welche zusammen mit der früher (24. Juli und 17. August) gegebenen Übersicht der Schlangen und Eidechsen mitgetheilt werden. Ber. Bekanntmach. Geeignet. Verhandl. Königl.-Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1854: 614-628
  • Pienaar, Uys de Villiers 1978. The Reptile Fauna of the Kruger National Park. Pretoria: National Parks Board of South Africa, i-vii, 222 S.
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Sindaco, R., Metallinou, M., Pupin, F., Fasola, M. & Carranza, S. 2012. Forgotten in the ocean: systematics, biogeography and evolution of the Trachylepis skinks of the Socotra Archipelago. Zoologica Scripta - get paper here
  • Spawls, S. & Rotich, D. 1997. An annotated checklist of the lizards of Kenya. J. East African Nat. Hist. 86: 61-83
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Stander, R.I. 2023. The Reptiles of the Limpopo Province and Kruger National Park. Herp Nomad, Polokwane, South Africa, 367 pp. - get paper here
  • Tolley, K.A., Conradie, W., Pietersen, D.W., Weeber, J., Burger, M. & Alexander, G.J. (eds) 2023. Conservation status of the reptiles of South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho. Suricata 10. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria
  • Werner, F. 1913. Neue oder seltene Reptilien und Frösche des Naturhistorischen Museums in Hamburg. Reptilien der Ostafrika-Expedition der Hamburger Geographischen Gesellschaft 1911/12. Leiter: Dr. E. Obst. Reptilien und Amphibien von Formosa. [these are 3 separate reports in one long article] Jb. Hamb. wiss. Anst., 30 [1912], 2. Beiheft: 1-39, 40-45, 45-51 - get paper here
  • Witte, G. F. de 1933. Reptiles récoltés au Conge Belge par le Dr. H. Schouteden et par M. G.-F. Witte. Ann. Mus. Conge belge Zool. Ser. 1 Tome III: 53-100.
  • Wyk, Kurt M. van & Bryan Maritz 2025. The Agony of Choice: Comparing Abundance Estimates from Multiple N-Mixture Model Variants Fitted to a Reptile Community Dataset Journal of Herpetology Jun 2025 Vol. 59, No. 2: 60-72 - get paper here
  • Wymann, M.N., & M.J. Whiting. 2002. Foraging ecology of rainbow skinks ( Mabuya margaritifer ) in southern Africa. Copeia 2002:943-958 - 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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