Trachylepis bensonii

Benson's mabuya (Trachylepis bensonii) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Western Africa.

Trachylepis bensonii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Trachylepis
Species:	T. bensonii
Binomial name
Trachylepis bensonii (W. Peters, 1867)
Synonyms[2]
Euprepes (Euprepis) Bensonii W. Peters, 1867 Mabuya bensonii — Greer et al., 2000 Trachylepis bensonii — Bauer, 2003

Etymology

The specific name, bensonii, is in honor of Stephen Allen Benson, who was President of Liberia from 1856 to 1864.[3]

Geographic range

T. bensonii is found in Liberia and Sierra Leone.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of T. bensonii are forest, savanna, and rocky areas, at altitudes of 200–1,200 m (660–3,940 ft).[1]

Reproduction

T. bensonii is oviparous.[2]

References

1. Trape J-F (2013). "Trachylepis bensonii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T178651A16909287. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T178651A16909287.en. Downloaded on 20 April 2020.
2. Trachylepis bensonii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 March 2015.
3. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Mabuya bensonii, p. 23).

Further reading

• Bauer AM (2003). "On the identity of Lacerta punctata Linnaeus 1758, the type species of the genus Euprepis Wagler 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro-Malagasy skinks". African Journal of Herpetology 52 (1): 1–7. (Trachylepis bensonii, new combination).
• Peters W (1867). "Herpetologische Notizen ". Monatsberichte der Königlich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1867: 13–37.
  ("Euprepes (Euprepis) Bensonii ", new species, pp. 20–21). (in German).
• Trape J-F, Trape S, Chirio L (2012). Lézards, crocodiles et tortues d'Afrique occidentale et du Sahara. Paris: IRD Orstom. 503 pp. ISBN 978-2709917261. (in French).