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NarrativeWikipediaarticle
Traits & measurements1 literature sources6 traits
Occurrence & distributionGBIF519 records
Genome at a glanceGoaT2n = 28
01Narrative
The bridled mabuya or bridled skink (Heremites vittatus) is a species of skinks found in North Africa and Middle East. The length of those skinks is up to 22 cm. The binomial name of this species has seen multiple updates in early 2000. The current binomial name is Heremites vittatus. Previously it was known as Mabuya vittata and for short period as Eutropis vittata and Trachylepis vittata . The reason for those changes is an attempt to divide the vast genus Mabuya in a few smaller genera. The bridled mabuya lives in open sandy or stony soil with little grass or bushy vegetation. It is usually found near water; in Egypt in the Wetlands and near oases in Tunisia. It can grow up to 22 centimeters long and has a smooth, shiny, body with overlapping scales. Their heads are cone shaped and they have elongated bodies and a tapering tail that is easily broken but can be regenerated. The bridled mabuya feeds primarily on insects and other arthropods.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Heremites vittatus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
06Genome at a glanceGoaT
The complete instruction manualHeremites vittatus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosomes2n = 28 n = 14
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin29.1 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type519 records
Wild obs. + sensor467
Museum / vouchered52
Origin
Native39
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO1 432 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy84% within 1 km
≤100 m 214≤1 km 118≤10 km 33>10 km 30
395 georeferenced · 72 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor467
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy30% within 1 km
≤1 km 3≤10 km 7
10 georeferenced · 42 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence52
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions2 of 4 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
SMNHTAUlocation not on record
39
Cambridge, US
10
Geneva, CH
2
Società romana di Scienze naturalilocation not on record
