Noronha skink

Noronha skink
Head of a lizard, seen from the right. The bases of the forelimbs are also visible. The upperparts are patterned black and gray and the underparts are white. The eyes are surrounded by a yellow ring.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Trachylepis
Species:
T. atlantica
Binomial name
Trachylepis atlantica
(Schmidt, 1945)
Map of the southern Atlantic Ocean with southwestern Africa and northeastern South America, with an island off northeastern Brazil highlighted.
Location of Fernando de Noronha, the island to which the Noronha skink is endemic.[2]
Synonyms[fn 8]

The Noronha skink[13] (Trachylepis atlantica) is a species of skink from the island of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. It is covered with dark and light spots on the upperparts and is usually about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) in length. The tail is long and muscular, but breaks off easily. Very common throughout Fernando de Noronha, it is an opportunistic feeder, eating both insects and plant material, including nectar from the Erythrina velutina tree, as well as other material ranging from cookie crumbs to eggs of its own species. Introduced predators such as feral cats prey on it and several parasitic worms infect it.

Perhaps seen by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503, it was first formally described in 1839. Its subsequent taxonomic history has been complex, riddled with confusion with Trachylepis maculata and other species, homonyms, and other problems. The species is classified in the otherwise mostly African genus Trachylepis and is thought to have reached its island from Africa by rafting. The enigmatic Trachylepis tschudii, supposedly from Peru, may well be the same species.

  1. ^ Colli, G.R., Fenker, J., Tedeschi, L., Bataus, Y.S.L., Uhlig, V.M., Silveira, A.L., da Rocha, C., Nogueira, C. de C., Werneck, F., de Moura, G.J.B., Winck, G., Kiefer, M., de Freitas, M.A., Ribeiro Junior, M.A., Hoogmoed, M.S., Tinôco, M.S.T., Valadão, R., Cardoso Vieira, R., Perez Maciel, R., Gomes Faria, R., Recoder, R., Ávila, R., Torquato da Silva, S., de Barcelos Ribeiro, S. & Avila-Pires, T.C.S. 2019. Trachylepis atlantica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T120689136A134890404. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T120689136A134890404.pt. Downloaded on 19 April 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rea450 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference G289 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, 2002, p. 293; Bauer, 2003, p. 4
  5. ^ Gray, 1845, p. 111
  6. ^ Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, 2002, p. 293; Miralles et al., 2009, p. 57
  7. ^ Boulenger, 1887, p. 160
  8. ^ Mausfeld and Vrcibradic, 2002, pp. 292, 294
  9. ^ Burt and Burt, 1931, p. 302
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference S45 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mea290 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mea57 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Rocha et al., 2009, p. 450; Sazima et al., 2005, p. 2; Silva et al., 2005, p. 62; Sazima et al., 2005, p. 1


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