African Striped Skink

The African striped skink (Trachylepis striata), commonly called the striped skink, is a species of lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is widespread in East Africa and Southern Africa. It is not a close relation to the Australian striped skink, Ctenotus taeniolatus.

Taxonomy: Former subspecies T. s. punctatissima, T. s. sparsa, and T. s. wahlbergii have been elevated to species level.

 T. striata is brown or bronze-coloured with two yellowish stripes that run lengthwise on either side of the spine. Both sexes grow to a total length (including tail) of 25 cm. Their tails are often missing due to predators.