Trachylepis striata (Peters, 1844)

I know that World Sparrow Day is supposed to be about Synanthropic (read - urbanisation-tolerant) birds, but I'm just trying to be a bit topical, which is why I'm going to throw in this:

Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia in August 2011, using Olympus E-420 with Zuiko 40-150mm lens and 2 KOOD magnifiers.

Over most of Lusaka, and a hefty portion of central and southern Africa, this is the outdoor lizard of urban habitats, which makes it a little surprising that my dictionary of Chewa and Nyanja has no word for 'Skink', beyond the generic lizard 'Buluzi'. Unlike the formerly successful bleuskops and goggomanikes (tree and ground agamas, respectively, but my spelling is probably wrong) these lizards are quick enough to flee, and to breed, that their populations can survive that nemesis of urban biodiversity, the domestic cat (please, people, keep them under control. Would you let a dog or a hamster wander into other people's gardens and across roads? No, no you would not. So why would you let your cat terrorise everything?).

And yes, that sentence is rather tangled. Parentheses have ruined my fluidity.

Anyhow, this little chappie is:

Trachylepis striata wahlbergi

(Peters, 1869)

And, despite being capable of delivering a sharp pinch with is blunt-toothed jaw, it is harmless. It's also fond of eating just about everything smaller than it, be they houseflies, crickets, ants, spiders, or even small frogs and lizards. This one is part of a population around a dried-out reservoir that co-habits with and occasionally snacks upon the much smaller Trachylepis varia (link is to post from Aug 13). They are generally seen vanishing into cracks in walls within areas where catapults are a common toy (I'll refrain from ranting, but just DON'T give small children projectile weapons. It shows a complete lack of foresight and environmental conscience, among other things), and watching lazily from walls where catapults are rare. They don't cope all that well with plastic buckets being left upright and unchecked close to walls, or smooth-sided cardboard, so be considerate, and check these regularly to avoid finding lizards dehydrated to death. 

To encourage them: ensure that there are raised surfaces, such as logs, rocks or walls, close to extensive hiding places. Most urban gardens provide this anyway. Discourage cats, and do not use pesticides. These little fellows - along with the aforementioned agamas - are actually very good at keeping most pest insects below damaging levels, provided they're not being poisoned. 

Here's a more complete (with the exception of the damaged tail) photograph of Lusaka's most abundant skink: 

Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia, October 2011, Olympus E-420 with 40-150mm lens and 1 KOOD magnifier.

And with that, let's get on with the taxonomy:

- Lygosominae                    

See also Trachylepis varia.

- Scincidae                            

- Scincomorpha                       

See also Zootoca vivipara.

- Scleroglossa                             

See also Thelotornis capensis and Lygodactylus capensis.

- Squamata                                    

- Lepidosauria                                 

- Lepidosauromorpha                        

- Sauria                                                 

See also Larus argentatus, Sterna hirundo, Burhinus vermiculatus, Troglodytes troglodytes, Megaceryle maxima, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Stigmatopelia senegalensis  and Tockus alboterminatus.

- Diapsida                                                

- Romeriida                                                

- Reptilia                                                       

- Amniota                                                        

- Reptiliomorpha                                                

See also Syncerus caffer and Hipposideros vittatus.

- Tetrapoda                                                          

See also Rana temporaria, Breviceps poweri and Chiromantis xerampelina.

- Sarcopterygii                                                        

- Osteichthyes                                                           

See also Synchiropus splendidus.

- Teleostomi                                                                

- Gnathostomata                                                            

- Vertebrata                                                                     

- Craniata                                                                          

- Chordata                                                                           

- Deuterostomia                                                                     

- Nephrozoa                                                                            

See also Burtoa nilotica, Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Alopecosa barbipes, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi, Pardosa amentata, Enallagma cyathigerum, Pseudagrion hageni, Lestinogomphus angustus, Rhyothemis semihyalina, Humbe tenuicornis, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Heteropternis thoracica, Stictogryllacris punctata, Enyaliopsis, Tettigonia viridissima, Sibylla, Pephricus, Grypocoris stysi, Ranatra, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Anthophora furcata, Andrena nigroaenea, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Nemophora degeerella, Sphinx ligustri, Laelia robusta, Acada biseriata, Metisella willemi, Anthocharis cardamines, Papilio demodocus, Panorpa germanica, Chloromyia formosa, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Metadon inermis, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes, Hagenomyia tristis, Phyllobius pomaceus, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Malachius bipustulatus, Oedemera nobilis, Melolontha melolontha, Cheilomenes lunata, Neojulodis vittipennis, Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasinii and Lophyra cf. differens.

- Bilateralia                                                                                 

- Eumetazoa                                                                                   

- Animalia                                                                                         

- Eukaryota                         

And that, folks, is all!

Trachylepis varia (Peters, 1867)

So I know that it can seem that I have a thing about invertebrates, so much that people (well, tourists) have asked me "Do you work in entomology?" or something to that effect.

But my primary fields of study were actually ecology and genetics, and my primary areas of interest are conservation and... herpetology.

This is to placate that unfed interest.

 - Eukaryota
   - Animalia
     - Eumetazoa
       - Bilateralia
         - Nephrozoa -see also Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Pseudagrion hageni, Sybilla, Stictogryllacris punctata, Cyathosternum prehensile, Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Ennalagma cyathigerum, Hagenomyia tristis, Synagris proserpina, Melolontha melolontha, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasinii, Zebronia phenice, Laelia robusta, Anthocharis cardamines, Acada biseriata, Panorpa germanica, Megistocera filipes, Diasemopsis meigenii, Episyrphus balteatus, Helophus pendulus and Senaspis haemorrhoa
           - Deuterostomia
             - Chordata
               - Craniata
                 - Vertebrata
                   - Gnathostomata
                     - Teleostomi
                       - Osteichthyes
                         - Sarcopterygii
                           - Tetrapoda
                             - Reptiliomorpha
                               - Amniota - see also Hipposideros vittatus.
                                 - Reptilia
                                   - Romeriida
                                     - Diapsida
                                       - Sauria - see also Chalcophaps indica , Ardea goliath and  Sterna hirundo.
                                         - Lepidosauromorpha
                                           - Lepidosauria 
                                             - Squamata
                                               - Scleroglossa - see also Thelotornis capensis and Lygodactylus capensis.
                                                 - Scincomorpha
                                                   - Scincidae
                                                     - Lygosominae

Trachylepis varia

(Peters, 1867)

As you may be able to guess from the specific epithet (varia), this is a rather variable species, which - in addition to the uncharted diversity of tropical african reptiles - makes it a bit difficult to say with certainty that it IS this species. However, based on the facial scales of species of Trachlyepis known in Southern Africa (which Lusaka city is only just outside of), it should be this species. Should being the operative word. 

And here it is: 

Its rather pointed face readily separates this species from the common urban species in the genus, Trachylepis striatus, although in most populations, the overall pattern is sufficient for that. The males were more frequently seen, and seemed to develop earthy-red hindquarters as the breeding season approached:

Both photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia - male in August 2011, female in October 2011.