Trachylepis homalocephala
| Red-sided Skink | |
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| Species: | T. homalocephala
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| Binomial name | |
| Trachylepis homalocephala (Peters, 1854)
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Mabuya homalocephala | |
The Red-sided Skink (Trachylepis homalocephala) is a small, slender species of skink in the subfamily Lygosominae. It is indigenous to Southern Africa, where it typically occurs in coastal thicket and leaf litter along the South African coast - from Cape Town, eastwards along the coast as far as Mozambique. A few tiny isolated populations also occur in moist mountainous areas further inland.
This small, elegant skink has a shiny, brightly striped body. Males change colour in the breeding season, developing bright red stripes on their flanks. The Red-sided Skink lays around 6 eggs in summer.[1] [2]
It was first described in 1828 by Weigmann (who named it Scincus homolocephalus), based on specimens at the Natural History Museum in Berlin that were collected in South Africa by Ludwig Krebs.[3]
In captivity
Red-sided Skinks are popular in the pet trade.
References
- ^ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Trachylepis&species=homalocephala
- ^ http://www.zsm.mwn.de/her/pdf/Moravec_et_al_2006_Trachylepis_aurata.pdf
- ^ Aaron M. Bauer, "Early German Herpetological Observations and Explorations of Southern Africa, with special reference to the Zoological Museum of Berlin", Bonn Zoological Bulletin, Volume 52, No. 3/4, November 30, 2004, p 205.
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