The overlap pattern between the parietal scale and the upper anterior temporal scale is a useful character in the large scincid lizard genus Mabuya. In the primitive pattern, the parietal overlaps the upper anterior temporal, and in the derived pattern, the upper anterior temporal overlaps the parietal. The primitive condition occurs in most species from Africa, at least some of the species from the Cape Verdes, and in all species from the Americas and the Seychelles. The derived condition occurs in most species from southeast Asia, some south Asian species, all endemic Madagascan species, and a few mainland African species.