What is "mabuya"

Mabuya is a genus of long-tailed skinks restricted to species from the Americas. They are primarily carnivorous, though many are omnivorous. The genus is viviparous, having a highly evolved placenta that resembles that of eutherian mammals. Formerly, many Old World species were placed here, as Mabuya was a kind of " wastebasket taxon". These Old World species are now placed in the genera Chioninia, Eutropis, and Trachylepis. Under the older classification, the New World species were referred to as "American mabuyas".

The ancestors of the genus are believed to have rafted across the Atlantic from Africa during the last 9 million years.