Trachylepis striata

Trachylepsis striata, known also as Mabuia striata, is a very diffused African scincid, 16-20 cm long, tail included, and present from the Tropic of Cancer to South Africa. The head is small, little distinct from the trunk and the body is covered by glossy imbricate scales. The back is brown-olive and in the young we note two pale longitudinal bands on the sides departing over the eye and fading in the adults that at times are almost uniformly black. It’s a diurnal animal that loves the savannhas and the semi-arid thickets rich of stones and bushes. It hunts various insects, mainly coleopters, without ignoring tasty berries and buds seen that it can climb nimbly also the trees. The females are ovoviviparous and during the summer or in autumn generate 4-10 newborns completely self-sufficient © Giuseppe Mazza