DIET AND ACTIVITY OF MABUYA-ACUTILABRIS (REPTILIA, SCINCIDAE) IN NAMIBIA

Mabuya acutilabris is a terrestrial African scincid lizard distributed from Little Namaqualand to the mouth of the Zaire (Congo) River. In t he central portion of its range (near Kamanjab, Namibia) the species i s active in early winter from 09.50 hr to 17.10 hr. These skinks spend much time basking, and 73 % of their surface activity occurs within 3 0 cm of clumps of vegetation where they construct shallow burrows. Sin gle day movements of the skinks are short in both duration and distanc e, yet long-term movement may be considerable. Density of the species at the study site was at least 106/ha. Across its geographic range M. acutilabris is a generalist insectivore, with hemipterans and a variet y of insect larvae constituting the most important prey classes.