The populations of three sympatric scincid lizards, Mabuya buettneri, Mabuya maculilabris and Panaspis nimbaensis, have been studied for five consecutive years in the Lamto savanna (Ivory Coast). The seasonal abundance of the three species differ greatly, even though they all increase during the rainy season (April to November). The differences stem mainly from differences in the hatching dates of the three species. Six months are required for these skinks to reach a mature size and reproduce. The average yearly reproductive capacity of the females of M. buettneri, M. maculilabris and P. nimbaensis is, respectively, 13, 30 and 13 eggs produced in 1.5, 5.5 and 5.0 clutches per year. Crude mortality of eggs and hatchlings is high, and survivorship to maturity is low: 18, 8 and 25% of eggs produced, respectively. After sexual maturity the death rate for females is lower than that of males in all species, but it is fairly high for both sexes: the best mean life expectancy after maturity is about 9 months for female M. maculilabris and the lowest is 1.3 months for male
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Robert Barbault (1976) studied this question.