Trachylepis homalocephala
Red-sided Skink
Alternative Names
Rooikant Gladde Akkedis (Afrikaans)
Species: Trachylepis homalocephala (Wiegmann, 1828)
Distribution: Lesotho; South Africa
Distribution extended:
Type Locality:
Habitat: Forest, FYnbos Savanna, Grassland
Habitat extended:
Natural History: Locally abundant, The red stripe (which the species is named) is present in breeding males.
Biology:
Conservation Status: According to the IUCN Red List, this species is classified as "Least Concern," indicating that it is not currently considered to be at high risk of extinction.
Additional reading
The Reptile Database - (See here)
IUCN Red List - (See here)
iNaturalist - (See here)
LITERATURE
Ambrose D. 2006. Lesotho Annotated Bibliography Section 166: Reptiles Including Annotated Checklist. Mamhlongo Productions, Roma. pp 14.
Bates, M. F. (2018). Trachylepis homalocephala (Wiegmann, 1828). African Herp News, (68), 52-53.
Clark, V. R., Perera, S. J., Stiller, M., Stirton, C. H., Weston, P. H., Stoev, P., ... & McGregor, G. K. (2012). A rapid multi-disciplinary biodiversity assessment of the Kamdebooberge (Sneeuberg, Eastern Cape, South Africa): implications for conservation. SpringerPlus, 1, 1-10.
Fraser, M. (2023). Reptiles and Amphibians of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa. Biodiversity Observations, 13, 162-185.
Golderg, S. R., & Bursey, C. R. (2010). Helminths from Eight Species of African Skinks (Trachylepis Scincidae). Comparative parasitology, 77(2), 236-241.
Maritz, B., & Alexander, G. J. (2014). Namaqua Dwarf Adders are generalist predators. African journal of herpetology, 63(1), 79-86.
Maritz, B., & Alexander, G. J. (2009). Breaking ground: quantitative fossorial herpetofaunal ecology in South Africa. African Journal of Herpetology, 58(1), 1-14.
van Blerk, D., Reissig, J., Riley, J. L., Measey, J., & Baxter-Gilbert, J. (2021). Observations of infanticide and cannibalism from four species of cordylid lizard (Squamata: Cordylidae) in captivity and the wild. Herpetology Notes, 14, 725-729.
Weinell, J. L., Branch, W. R., Colston, T. J., Jackman, T. R., Kuhn, A., Conradie, W., & Bauer, A. M. (2019). A species-level phylogeny of Trachylepis (Scincidae: Mabuyinae) provides insight into their reproductive mode evolution. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 136, 183-195.