Kingdom Animalia Class Reptilia Family Scincidae Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Squamata Subfamily Lygosominae | |
Similar Trachylepis consis, Trachylepis punctatissima, Trachylepis sulcata | ||
The Kalahari tree skink, Trachylepsis spilogaster, is a lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is endemic to southern Africa, including Namibia, South Africa, western Botswana, and southern Angola.
Habitat
Kalahari tree skinks have been found to live around trees that contain the large colonial nests of the sociable weaver bird. Their numbers are higher in these areas despite a known predator of skinks, the pygmy falcon, also nesting in these trees. It is theorized that the increased opportunity for places of refuge outweigh the risk of predation.
References
Trachylepis spilogaster Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA