Trachylepis hoeschi
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Trachylepis hoeschi, also known commonly as Hoesch's mabuya and Hoesch's skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Mabuyinae of the family Scincidae. The species is native to southwestern Africa. The specific name, hoeschi, is in honor of German zoologist Walter Hoesch (1896–1961), who collected the holotype.
T. hoeschi is found in Angola and Namibia. The preferred natural habitat of T. hoeschi is arid savanna, where it is found on boulders and rock outcrops, at altitudes of 10–2,200 m (33–7,218 ft). Adults of T. hoeschi usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in). The maximum recorded SVL is 10 cm (3.9 in). The tail is long, about two times SVL.
Dorsally, T. hoeschi is grayish brown, with transverse bands of dark brown spots. Ventrally, it is white, except for the throat which is yellowish. T. hoeschi preys upon insects such as beetles, moths, and wasps. The mode of reproduction of T. hoeschi is unknown. Bauer AM (2003). "On the identity of Lacerta punctata Linnaeus 1758, the type species of the genus Euprepis Fitzinger... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hoesch's Mabuya sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 39 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Hoesch's Mabuya in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hoesch's Mabuya sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Namib-Naukluft National Park, in our data
Namib-Naukluft National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Hoesch's Mabuya sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Trachylepis
The closest relatives of the Hoesch's Mabuya that you can see in Namib-Naukluft National Park (genus Trachylepis, Afro-Malagasy Mabuyas) are Kalahari Tree Skink (about 30%), Variegated Skink (about 20%) and Western three-striped skink (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hoesch's Mabuya is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Namib-Naukluft National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
