Mabuya

a genus of lizards of the family Scincidae. The body is up to 22 cm long; the limbs are well developed. The body is usually brown with light longitudinal stripes and dark spots, and many mabuyas have a metallic luster. There are approximately 90 species, found in Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia, South America, Central America, and the Antilles Islands. Mabuyas are very agile, and many of them crawl easily along cliffs, trees, and shrubs. They feed on insects and other small invertebrates. Some species lay eggs, but the majority are ovoviviparous. The lizard Mabuya aurata lives in the USSR in southern Armenia, Turkmenia, and the southeastern part of Uzbekistan, usually in places with shrubbery and high grasses. In July the female lays four to eight eggs, from which the young hatch only a few minutes later.