African Five-lined Rainbow Skink Trachylepis (prev. Mabuya) quinquetaeniata

The African Five-lined Skink, also called the Rainbow Skink or Rainbow Mabuya, is native to much of the African continent from North to southern Africa, West to East.

There is often confusion over its names. The American Five-lined Skink is a different species and genus. Another related East African skink, T. margaritifera, is also called the Rainbow Skink and sometimes the Five-lined, and used to be classed as a subspecies of this one T. quinquetaeniata.

Breeding males have the colourful yellow and blue pearlescence that gives the "Rainbow" name. Females have the longitudinal yellow stripes that give the "Five-line" name (three yellow lines on top and one each side before the white underbelly).