Data from: A single origin of extreme matrotrophy in African mabuyine skinks

Most mammals and ~20 % of squamates (lizards and snakes) are viviparous, whereas all crocodilians, birds, and turtles are oviparous. Viviparity evolved > 100 times in squamates, including multiple times in Mabuyinae (Reptilia: Scincidae), making this group ideal for studying the evolution of nutritional patterns associated with viviparity. Previous studies suggest that extreme matrotrophy, the support of virtually all of embryonic development by maternal nutrients, evolved as many as three times in Mabuyinae: in Neotropical Mabuyinae (63 species), <i>Eumecia</i> (2 species; Africa), and <i>Trachylepis ivensii</i> (Africa). However, no explicit phylogenetic hypotheses exist for understanding the evolution of extreme matrotrophy. Using multilocus DNA data, we inferred a species tree for Mabuyinae that implies that <i>T. ivensii</i> (here assigned to the resurrected genus <i>Lubuya</i>) is sister to <i>Eumecia</i>, suggesting that extreme matrotrophy evolved only once in African mabuyine skinks.