Trachylepis spilogaster
Kalahari tree skink | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Scincidae |
Genus: | Trachylepis |
Species: | T. spilogaster
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Binomial name | |
Trachylepis spilogaster (Peters, 1882)
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Synonyms | |
Mabuya spilogaster |
The Kalahari tree skink or spiny mabuya (Trachylepis spilogaster) is a lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is endemic to southern Africa, including Namibia, South Africa, western Botswana, and southern Angola.[1]
Habitat
Kalahari tree skinks have been found to live around trees that contain the large colonial nests of the sociable weaver bird. Their numbers are higher in these areas despite a known predator of skinks, the pygmy falcon, also nesting in these trees. It is theorized that the increased opportunity for places of refuge outweigh the risk of predation.[2] Skinks found on colony trees have learned to eavesdrop on sociable weavers to warn of approaching pygmy falcons. [3]
References
- ^ "Trachylepis spilogaster". Reptile Database. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- ^ Rymer, Tasmin L; Thomson, Robert L; Whiting, Martin J (Nov 2014). "At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence" (PDF). Austral Ecology. 39 (7): 839–847. doi:10.1111/aec.12152. hdl:2263/43816.
- ^ Lowney, Anthony M; Flower, Tom P; Thomson, Robert L (Jun 2020). "Kalahari skinks eavesdrop on sociable weavers to manage predation by pygmy falcons and expand their realized niche presence". Behavioral Ecology. 31 (5): 1094–1102. doi:10.1093/beheco/araa057.
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