Trachylepis tschudii
| Trachylepis tschudii | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Trachylepis |
| Species: | T. tschudii |
| Binomial name | |
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Trachylepis tschudii Miralles, Chaparro, and Harvey, 2009 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Trachylepis tschudii is an enigmatic skink, purportedly from Peru. First described in 1845 on the basis of a single specimen, it may be the same as the Noronha skink (T. atlantica) from Fernando de Noronha, off northeastern Brazil. T. tschudii represents one of two doubtful records of the otherwise African genus Trachylepis on mainland South America; the other is T. maculata from Guyana.
The only specimen, the holotype, is mostly brownish above, with dark and light spots, and white below. The snout-to-vent length is 83 mm (3.3 in). Several features of the scales align it with Trachylepis over the related American genus Mabuya.
In 1845, Swiss zoologist Johann Jakob von Tschudi described the new species Trachylepis (Xystrolepis) punctata among other species he had collected in Peru. The species was recorded as being from the "forest region" (Amazonia) of Peru and was known from a single specimen, the holotype. In 1887, G.A. Boulenger placed it at an uncertain position within the genus Mabuia, which included Tschudi's Trachylepis. In a 1907 reappraisal of some of Tschudi's reptiles and amphibians, J. Roux redescribed punctata under the name "Mabuia punctata", but did not comment on its affinities. In 1935, E.R. Dunn reviewed some American Mabuya and commented that he was unable to tell the identity of punctata, but that it probably was not a true Mabuya.
Writing in 1946, H. Travassos considered Tschudi's punctata to be identical to the Noronha skink (then known as Mabuya punctata), a species otherwise known only from Fernando de Noronha, a small archipelago off northeastern Brazil. On the basis of its geographic origin, J. Peters and R. Donoso-Barros preferred to place it with one of the Mabuya species of Amazonia and classified it as a junior synonym of Mabuya mabouya. In reviewing the nomenclature of the Noronha skink, P. Mausfeld and D. Vrcibradic noted in 2002 that Tschudi's name was preoccupied within Mabuya, making it unavailable for use as a valid name. They were unable to examine the holotype and therefore did not comment on its affinities. In the same year, Mausfeld and others split the genus Mabuya, retaining most American species in Mabuya but placing the African species and the Noronha skink in a separate genus Euprepis; the latter name was later corrected to Trachylepis.
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