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African Striped Skink Had the Third-Highest Estimated Density in an Ethiopian Reptile Survey

African striped skink resting on a log in Arusha National Park, Tanzania
Research · Ecology

A reptile survey in western Ethiopia classified the African striped skink (Trachylepis striata) as one of the habitat generalists of Enzi Millennium Park. Across the full survey it occurred in grassland, rocky habitat and woodland, although the habitat-by-season table recorded no individuals in rocky habitat during the wet-season survey.

A transect is a predefined line or route used to survey an area systematically, with observations, signs or sampling points recorded along it.

Researchers surveyed the park in the Blue Nile River basin using 48 transects distributed across its three main habitat types. Fieldwork covered the dry season in February and the wet season in June 2022. In total, the team recorded 818 reptiles belonging to 12 species.

The study estimated an overall density of about 0.79 and a park population of roughly 50 African striped skinks, the third-highest estimates among the 12 reptile species surveyed, behind five-lined skink (Trachylepis quinquetaeniata) and Doria’s agama (Agama doriae). Its density was highest in woodland: 0.88 in the wet season and 0.42 in the dry season. Grassland values were 0.04 in both seasons, while rocky habitat was 0 in the wet survey and 0.20 in the dry survey.

Across the reptile community, woodland had the highest diversity in both seasons. More reptiles were recorded in the dry season than in the wet season, 496 compared with 322, but the analysis did not support a clear seasonal difference in overall abundance. The authors suggest that the greater structural complexity of woodland may support more reptile species by providing basking sites, shelter and prey. They present the survey as baseline information for reptile conservation in Enzi Millennium Park and the wider Blue Nile River basin.

Sources and image credit

  1. Abera, Y., & Girma, Z. (2026). Species Diversity of Reptiles Under Different Land Covers of Enzi Millennium Park, Blue Nile River Basin, Western Ethiopia. International Journal of Zoology, 2026, 4318360. https://doi.org/10.1155/ijz/4318360Primary peer-reviewed open-access study first published 18 March 2026. African striped skink had an overall density estimate of 0.79 ± 0.09 and population estimate of 50.1 ± 5.79, third-highest among 12 reptile species. Authors classify it as a habitat generalist, although the habitat-by-season table records zero in rocky habitat during the wet survey.

Image: Charles J. Sharp — African striped skink photographed in Arusha National Park, Tanzania, 2 August 2026; representative species image, not an animal from the Ethiopia study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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