Added 13 October 2001. Last updated 11 February 2024: majorly updated the page to incorporate approx 20 years' worth of revisions.

A look at the

SKINKS

Family SCINCIDAE

Introduction

The skinks make up the largest family of lizards, with the number of species once considered to be 800-1,200 but now over 1,700.

Skinks are not "household name" lizards to many people, at least to those in Europe. Most non-herpetophiles have a good idea what a gecko, an iguana or a monitor may like look, but skinks have suffered from relative anonymity despite the recent boom in popularity of lizard pets and the corresponding rise in the number of Blue-Tongue Skinks (Tiliqua species) being kept. Among hobbyists and perhaps "serious" researchers, skinks are often overlooked as shy and rather nondescript lizards.

In fact while many skinks are similar in form and behaviour, as a group they show an interesting variety of lifestyles and biological developments. There are striking gradations of limb reduction or loss within many of the genera, while on the other hand some skinks give genuine live birth to their young: not just ovoviviparity (where the young break out of an egg membrane shortly before birth) but true viviparity whereby the young are born with a placenta. A few species also display some evidence of maternal care. Most skinks are on the small side, being less than 12" in total length, but there are a few medium-sized and highly prized species from Australia and the Pacific.

In shape and form skinks are nevertheless a fairly conservative family. The archetypal skink is often easily distinguished by a rather rounded or "cylindrical" body, tapering tail, and most characteristically, smooth and often shiny scales. There is usually an external ear opening and eyes with eyelids, although a few species have vestigial eyes and one species has a transparent "window" in a fused eyelid. The greatest variation tends to be in the limbs, which range from well-developed to absent, and the number of digits can also vary. Few are particularly colourful, although there are some striking exceptions to this rule.

The general characteristics of skinks are as follows (details from Grzimek):

Top of head covered by large, symmetrically arranged, ossified scales;
Round scales on back and belly are imbricated (overlapping) and usually ossified;
Below the scales are small osteoderms, rounded or hexagonal like the scales themselves and penetrated by symmetrical tubules;
Teeth are pleurodont;
The abdominal musculature is not closely associated with the belly scales;
There are no femoral or preanal pores;
The tongue is free and moderately long, slightly notched at the end and bearing imbricating (overlapping) scale-like papillae;
Body is usually cylindrical;
Head usually ends in sharp snout;
Tail is pointed at the tip.

Legless skinks can be easily distinguished from legless anguid lizards by the form of the tongue.

Distribution

There are a few species in Europe and South America, with a somewhat larger number in North America, but most skinks are distributed fairly evenly throughout Asia, Africa and especially the Australo-Pacific region, where skinks colonised not only Australia but many Pacific islands. New Zealand has two genera of skinks, both of which are interesting from several behavioural aspects of view such as their cool habitat and social structure. Worldwide, terrestrial and fossorial (burrowing) forms predominate, with arboreal and aquatic forms being much rarer.

Taxonomy

Taxonomically, the Scincidae have traditionally been divided into three subfamilies: the Scincinae, found mostly in the Old World except for Australia; the Acontiinae, from southern Africa, and the Lygosomatiinae, which is distributed worldwide and includes any skinks found in Australia or South America (Mattison). Some authorities formerly omitted the Acontiinae and added the Tiliquinae, a subfamily covering the large skinks such as Tiliqua and Egernia and also the probably extinct Macroscincus from Cape Verde: this has however shown to be erroneous. Other authorities recently added the subfamily Eumecinae, but this is still unconfirmed. (See however the 2024 update).

On February 26 2004 Dr Andreas Schmitz of the Department of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Natural History Museum of Geneva was kind enough to send me a list of the latest changes in the taxonomy of scincid lizards, as well as pointing out a couple of errors on my part. At the risk of doing an injustice to his comprehensive explanation, I will try to summarise the major changes as follows:

Mabuya is broken up into four genera. Mabuya now applies only to the South American species of that genus. African and Malagasy Mabuya become Euprepis, Asian Mabuya become Eutropis, and those from the Cape Verde Islands become Chioninia.
Novoeumeces was incorrectly named in 2000, since according to the ICZN rules on taxonomy classification, if a genus is split, then the group containing the type species must retain the original name.

There are also a number of other genera mentioned below which are synonyms of other genera. Dr Schmitz also provided a list of literature references containing these changes.

Given the above, and bearing in mind the fluid state of scincid taxonomy, I have decided to add the new genera to the list below. The old names will be retained in the list, mainly because they often occur even in recent literature, but where they are synonyms for other genera, this will be clearly stated. We will also adjust the numbers of species in each genus accordingly, although this will take some time. This does not claim to be an infallible guide, but we do want to make sure that it is accurate as possible.

2024 update

In the twenty or so years since this page went up, there has been a considerable number of revisions to the classification of Scincidae. One of the most significant has been the 2012 revision by Hedges and Conn reclassifying many of the New World Mabuya skinks.

The following changes have occurred within recent years:

Asymblepharus (4 species) has been reassigned to Ablepharus, Protoblepharus or Scincella
Acontophiops is now reassigned to Acontias
The genera Acritoscincus, Alinea, Alpinoscincus
Androngo (4 species) is reassigned to Flexiseps and Pygomeles
Afroablepharus species are all reassigned to Panaspis
Apteryogoon is reassigned to Dasia
Bartleia is reassigned to Techmarscincus, and Bassiana to Acritoscincus, Cautula to Harrisonia
Marmorosphax is now reassigned to Celatiscincus
Of the 9 species of Niveoscincus, 8 have been reassigned to Carinascincus and 1 to Pseudemoia
Cyclodina skinks are now all considered Oligosoma skinks
Cryptoscincus is now reassigned to Paracontias
Davewakum is now assigned to Brachymeles
Egernia is reduced in size, with some species reassigned to Bellatorias, Liopholis and Lissolepis
Evesia is reassigned to Nessia
Hemisphaeriodon, the Pink-Tongued Skink is reassigned to Cyclodomorphus
Lacertus which we placed here in 2001 under “Earless Skinks” from Somalia, is now in fact considered a synonym of Mabuya mabouya
The genus Liburnascincus is created from four former Carlia species
Lobulia has some species reassigned to the new genera Alpinoscincus, Nubeoscincus, Ornithuroscincus and Palaia
Lygosoma continues to be broken down into further genera, including Larutia
As noted, Mabuya has lost many more species, namely to the following genera: Alinea, Brasiliscincus, Capitellum, Copeoglossum, Manciola, Maracaiba, Marisora, Orosaura, Panopa, Spondylurus and Varzea
Macroscincus, the Cape Verde Giant Skink (presumed extinct) is now considered part of Chioninia
Neoseps, the Florida Sand Skink, is reassigned to Plestiodon
Parachalcides is now considered Hakaria
Sirenoscincus is now reassigned to Voeltzkowia
Shenops (4 species) is now reassigned to Chalcides
Trachydosaurus is now part of Tiliqua

As regards subfamilies, the following are now considered valid:

Subfamily	Genera
Acontinae, limbless skinks	Acontias, Typhlosauraus
Egerniinae, social skinks	Bellatorias, Corucia, Cyclodomorphus, Egernia, Liopholis, Lissolepis, Tiliqua, Tribolonotus
Eugongylinae, eugongylid skinks	Ablepharus, Acritoscincus, Alpinoscincus, Anepischetosia, Austroablepharus, Caesoris, Caledoniscincus, Carinascincus, Carlia, Celatiscincus, Cophoscincopus, Cryptoblepharus, Emoia, Epibator, Eroticoscincus, Eugongylus, Geomyersia, Geoscincus, Graciliscincus, Harrisoniascincus, Kanakysaurus, Kuniesaurus, Lacertaspis, Lacertoides, Lampropholis, Leiolopisma, Leptosiaphos, Liburnascincus, Lioscincus, Lobulia, Lygisaurus, Marmorosphax, Menetia, Morethia, Nannoscincus, Nubeoscincus, Oligosoma, Panaspis, Phaeoscincus, Phasmasaurus, Phoboscincus, Proablepharus, Pseudemoia, Pygmeascincus, Saproscincus, Sigaloseps, Simiscincus, Tachygia, Techmarscincus, Tropidoscincus
Lygosominae, lygosomid skinks	Haackgreerius, Lamprolepis, Lygosoma, Mochlus, Riopa, Subdoluseps
Mabuyinae, mabuyid skinks	Alinea, Aspronema, Brasiliscincus, Capitellum, Chionina, Copeoglossum, Dasia, Eumecia, Eutropis, Exila, Heremites, Lubuya, Mabuya, Manciola, Maracaiba, Marisora, Notomabuya, Otosaurus, Panopa, Psychosaura, Spondylurus, Toenayar, Trachylepis, Varzea, Vietnascincus
Scincinae, typical skinks	Amphiglossus, Ateuchosaurus, Barkudia, Brachymeles, Chalcides, Chalcidoseps, Eumeces, Eurylepis, Feylinia, Flexiseps, Gongylomorphus, Grandidierina, Hakaria, Janetaescincus, Jarujinia, Madascincus, Melanoseps, Mesoscincus, Nessia, Ophiomorus, Pamelaescincus, Paracontias, Plestiodon, Proscelotes, Pseudoacontias, Pygomeles, Scelotes, Scincopus, Scincus, Scolecoseps, Sepsina, Sepsophis, Typhlacontias, Voeltzkowia
Sphenomorphinae, sphenomorphid skinks	Anomalopus, Calorodius, Calyptotis, Coeranoscincus, Coggeria, Concinnia, Ctenotus, Eremiascincus, Eulamprus, Fojia, Glaphyromorphus, Gyneptoscincus, Hemiergis, Insulasaurus, Isopachys, Kaestlea, Lankascincus, Larutia, Leptoseps, Lerista, Lipinia, Nangura, Notoscincus, Ophioscincus, Ornithuroscincus, Orosaura, Palaia, Papuascincus, Parvoscincus, Pinoyscincus, Praeteropus, Prasinohaema, Protoblepharus, Ristella, Saiphos, Scincella, Sepsiscus, Silvascincus, Sphenomorphus, Tropidophorus, Tumbunascincus, Tytthoscincus

The following is a guide to the skink genera.

NAVIGATION: As this is a large page we have placed a couple of navigation links in each genus box. Click on "B" to go to the Bibliography, or "I" to go back up to the index (Quick Links).

Ablepharus, Lidless/Snake-Eyed Skinks	Acontias, Greater Legless Skinks	Acritoscincus, Cool-Skinks
Alinea, Barbados and Saint Lucia Skinks	Alpinoscincus	Amphiglossus, Common\Water Skinks
Anepischetosia, Highlands Forest-Skink	Anomalopus, Worm Skinks	Aspronema, Lidless Skinks
Ateuchosaurus, Oriental Ateuchosaurus	Austroablepharus, Snake-Eyed Skinks	Barkudia, Madras Spotted Skinks
Bellatorius, Major Skink, Land Mullet, Arnhem Gorge Skink	Brachymeles, Short-Legged Skinks	Brachyseps
Brasiliscincus , New Caledonian Sk nks	Caesoris , Blue-Mouthed Skink	Caledoniscincus , New Caledonian Skinks
Calorodius, Thorton Peak Skink	Calyptotis, Calyptotis Skinks	Capitellum
Carinascincus, Snow Skinks, Cool-Skinks	Carlia, Rainbow Skinks	Celatiscincus, Pale-Hipped Skinks
Chalcides, Barrel Skinks	Chalcidoseps, Thwaite's Skink	Chioninia, Cape Verde Skinks, Cape Verde Mabuyas
Coeranoscincus, Snake-Toothed Skinks	Coggeria, Fraser Island Sand Skink	Concinnia, Bar-Sided Skinks
Copeoglossum	Cophoscincopus, Keeled Water Skink	Corucia, Prehensile-Tailed/Monkey Skink
Cryptoblepharus, Shinning Skinks	Cryptoscincus, Secret Skink	Ctenotus, Ctenotus
Cyclodomorphus, Oak Skinks	Dasia, Dasia Skinks	Egernia, Spiny Skinks
Emoia, Whiptail Skinks	Epibator	Eremiascincus, Sand Swimmers
Eroticoscincus, Elf Skinks	Eugongylus, Sheen Skinks	Eulamprus, Five-Fingered Skinks
Eumeces, Berber Skinks	Eumecia, Western Serpentiform Skinks	Eurylepis, Elf Skinks
Eutropis, Elf Skinks	Exila, Black Mabuya	Feylinia, Feylinias
Flexiseps	Fojia, Fojii Skink	Geomyersia, Australian Island Skinks
Geoscincus, (Bar-Lipped) Skink	Glaphyromorphus, (Bar-Lipped) Skinks	Gnypetoscincus, Prickly Forest Skink
Gongylomorphus, Bojer Skinks	Gongylus, Thick-Tailed Skinks	Graciliscincus, Sadler's Skink
Haackgreerius, Haacke-Greer's Skink	Hakaria	Harrisonia, Rainforest Cool-Skink
Hemiergis, Earless Skinks	Heremites, Grass Skinks and Bridled Skink	Insulasaurus
Isopachys, Isopachys Skinks	Janetaescincus, Janet's Skinks	Jarujinia
Lacertaspis, Lidless Skinks	Kaestlea, Ground Skinks	Kanakysaurus
Kuniesaurus	Lacertoides	Lamprolepis, Emerald Skinks
Lampropholis, Sunskinks	Lankascincus, Tree Skinks	Larutia, Larut Skinks
Leiolopisma, Ground Skinks	Leptoseps, Leptoseps	Leptosiaphos, Five-Toed Skinks
Lerista, Sliders	Liburnascincus, Rainbow Skinks	Liopholis
Lioscincus, New Caledonian Skinks	Lipinia, Lipinia Skinks	Lissolepis, Mourning Skinks
Lobulia, Lobulia Skinks	Lubuya, Lubuya Skinks	Lygisaurus, Litter Skinks
Lygosoma, Writhing Skinks	Mabuya, Typical Skinks	Madascincus
Manciola, Dunn's Mabuya, South American Small-Handed Skink	Maracaiba	Marisora
Marmorosphax, Marmorosphax Skinks	Melanoseps, Limbless Skinks	Menetia, Dwarf Skinks
Mesoscincus	Mochlus, Fire Skinks	Morethia, Morethia/Fire-Tailed Skinks
Nangura, Nangur Skink	Nannoscincus, Elf/Mulch Skinks	Nessia, Nessia Skinks
Notomabuya, Cool Skinks	Notoscincus, Soil-Crevice Skinks	Nubeoscincus, Common Skinks
Oligosoma, Common Skinks	Ophiomorus, Snake-Eyed Skinks	Ophioscincus, Snake Skinks
Ornithuroscincus	Orosaura, Veezuelan Mountain Skink	Otosaurus, Cuming's Sphenomorphus
Palaia	Pamelaescincus, Gardiner's Skink	Panaspis, Snake-Eyed Skinks
Panopa, Carvalho's Mabuya, Horton's Mabuya	Papuascincus, Papuan Skinks	Paracontias, Stone Skinks
Paralipinia	Parvoscincus, Diminutive Skinks	Phaeoscincus, Diminutive Skinks
Phasmasaurus, Maquis Skinks	Phoboscincus, Garnier's Skinks	Pinoyscincus
Plestiodon, Five-Lined Skinks	Praeteropus	Prasinohaema, Green Tree Skinks
Proablepharus, Soil-Crevice Skinks	Proscelotes, Slender Skinks	Protoblepharus
Pseudoacontias, Giant Madagascar Skinks	Pseudemoia, Window-Eyed Skinks	Psychosaura, Vibora, Hoge's Mabuya
Pygmaeascincus, Dwarf Skinks, Dwarf Litter-Skink	Pygomeles, Short Skinks	Riopa
Ristella, Ristella Skinks	Saiphos, Three-Toed Skinks	Saproscincus, Shade/Litter Skinks
Scelotes, Dwarf Burrowing Skinks	Scincella, Smooth/Ground Skinks	Scincopus, Banded Skinks
Scincus, Sandfish	Scolecoseps, Limbless Skinks	Sepsina, Savannah Burrowing Skinks
Sepsiscus, Cape York Worm-Skink	Sepsophis, Spotted Eastern Ghats Skink	Sigaloseps
Silvascincus, Forest Skinks	Simiscincus	Sphenomorphus, Forest Skinks
Sphenops, Sandfish	Spondylurus, Antillean Four-Lined Skinks	Subdoluseps
Sphenops, Sandfish	Tachygia	Techmarscincus, Bartle-Frere Cool-Skink
Tiliqua, Blue-Tongued Skinks	Toenayar, Anderson's Mabuya, Nine-Keeled Sun Skink	Toenayar, Anderson's Mabuya, Nine-Keeled Sun Skink
Trachylepis, Afro-Malagasy Skinks	Tribolonotus, Helmet Skinks	Tropidophorus, Keeled Skinks
Tropidoscincus, New Caledonian Whip-Tailed Skinks	Tumbunascincus, Orange-Speckled Forest-Skink	Typhlacontias, Western Burrowing Skinks
Typhlosaurus, Blind Legless Skinks	Tytthoscincus, Blind Legless Skinks	Varzea
Vietnascincus	Voeltzkowia, Burrowing Blind Skinks

Genus	Common Name	No. of Species	Distribution	Notes
Ablepharus	Lidless/Snake-Eyed Skinks	26	SE Europe, W Russia, C Asia, Middle East	B I
Acontias	Greater Legless Skinks	8	S Africa	B I
Acritoscincus	Cool Skinks	3	S Australia	Former Bassiana species. B I
Alinea	Barbados and Saint Lucia Skinks	2	Barbados and St Lucia Island	Former Mabuya species. B I
Alpinoscincus		2	Papua New Guinea	Former Lobulia skinks. B I
Amphiglossus	Common/Water Skinks	2	Madagascar and neighbouring islands	B I
Anepischetosia	Highlands Forest-Skink	1	Australia	Former Nannoscincus species. B I
Anomalopus	Worm Skinks	4	NE Australia (Queensland, NSW)	Small smooth-scaled skinks with reduced or absent limbs. B I
Aspronema		2		B I
Ateuchosaurus	Oriental Ateuchosaurus	3	China and Japan	B I
Austroablepharus	Snake-Eyed Skinks	3	Australia	Former Proablepharus species. B I
Barkudia	Madras Spotted Skinks	2	India	B I
Bellatorias	Major Skink, Land Mullet, Arnhem Gorge Skink	3	Australia, Papua New Guinea	Former Egernia species. B I
Brachymeles	Short-Legged Skinks	16	Mainly Philippines: also Malaysia	B I
Brachyseps		7	Madagascar	Former Amphiglossus species. B I
Brasiliscincus		3	Brazil	Former Mabuya species. B I
Caesoris	Blue-Mouthed Skink	1	New Caledonia	Former Lioscincus species. B I
Caledoniscincus	New Caledonian Skinks	14	New Caledonia	B I
Calorodius	Thornton Peak Skink	1	Australia (Queensland)	Former Calyptotis species. B I
Calyptotis	Calyptotis Skinks	4	Australia (Queensland and NSW)	B I
Capitellum	Marie-Galante Skink, Lesser Martinique Skink, Lesser Saint Croix Skink	4	Caribbean	Former Mabuya species. B I
Carinascincus	Forest Cool-Skinks	1	Australia (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania)	Former Niveoscincus species. Small skinks with typical shiny scales and well-developed limbs. B I
Carlia	Rainbow Skinks	46	Mainly Australia (esp. Queensland): Papua New Guinea, Indonesia & islands	B I
Celatiscincus		2	New Caledonia	B I
Chalcides	Barrel Skinks	20	N Africa, Europe, W Asia	Cylindrical-shaped skinks with varying degrees of reduced limbs: C. ocellatus is a popular terrarium subject. B I
Chalcidoseps	Thwaite's Skink	1	Sri Lanka	Monotypic genus. B I
Chioninia	Cape Verde Skinks, Cape Verde Mabuyas		Cape Verde islands	Species formerly considered to be part of the large Mabuya genus. It now also includes Chioninia coctei, the probably extinct species formerly classified as Macroscincus coctei, the Cape Verde Giant Skink. B I
Coeranoscincus	Snake-Toothed Skinks	2	Australia (NSW & Queensland)	B I
Coggeria	Fraser Island Sand Skink	1		B I
Concinnia		7		Former Eulamprus species. B I
Copeoglossum		5		Former New World Mabuya species. B I
Cophoscincopus	Keeled Water Skinks	4	West Africa.	B I
Corucia	Prehensile-Tailed/Monkey-Tailed/Solomon Islands Skink	1	Solomon Islands	B I
Cryptoblepharus	Shinning Skinks	53	Indo-Pacific region, as far west as S Africa	Small skinks with well-developed limbs. Often found on shorelines. B I
Ctenotus	Ctenotus	108	Australia	B I
Cyclodomorphus	Oak Skinks/ Bluetongues [NB not to be confused with the Blue-Tongue Skinks of the Tiliqua genus]	9	Australia (inc. Tasmania)	Now includes the Pink-Tongued skink formerly assigned to the genus Hemisphaeriodon ("Blue-Tongued" Skinks) but similar in form and build. B I
Dasia	Dasia Skinks	10	India and SE Asia	B I
Egernia	Spiny Skinks	18	Australia	A genus of mainly "spiky" skinks with well-developed limbs and true viviparous reproduction. Some have become popular terrarium subjects. Latterly some species have been split off to other genera. B I
Emoia	Whiptail Skinks, Mangrove Skinks	84	S Pacific, inc. Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Solomon Islands, Australia	A very successful Indo-Pacific genus. Mattison notes that their predilection for shoreline or mangrove forest habitats has undoubtedly aided their distribution. These are unusual skinks in several ways: they have long limbs, many are arboreal or semi-arboreal, and of these treedwelling species, many are green with some having brightly coloured tails, often blue (Mattison). B I
Epibator		3	New Caledonia	Former Lioscincus species. B I
Eremiascincus	Sand Swimmers	15	Australia	B I
Eroticoscincus	Elf Skink	1	SE Queensland, Australia	B I
Eugongylus	Sheen Skinks	5	Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Pacific Islands	B I
Eulamprus	Five-Fingered Skinks	5	Australia	Now at least partially reassigned to Concinnia. B I
Eumeces	Berber Skinks	7	N Africa through Middle East and C Asia to India	This small genus includes the Berber Skink, more usually known scientifically as Eumeces schneideri. These are medium-sized (up to 12") and attractive skinks. B I
Eumecia	Western Serpentiform Skinks	2	Sub-Saharan Africa	B I
Eurylepis	Elf Skinks	2	Middle East, C Asia and esp. Indian subcontinent	Genus of 3 skinks of which 2 were formerly considered to be part of Eumeces. B I
Eutropis		48	Asia	Contains those Asian lizards formerly considered part of the large Mabuya genus (see Taxonomy). B I
Exila	Black Mabuya	1	Brazil, Peru and Boliva	Former Mabuya species. B I
Feylinia	Feylinids/Limbless Skinks	6	Africa (not south)	Legless lizards considered a separate family by some. B I
Flexiseps		15	Madagascar	Former Androngo and Amphiglossus species. B I
Fojia	Fojia Skink	1	New Guinea	B I
Geomyersia	Australian Island Skinks	2	S Pacific	B I
Geoscincus	(Bar-Lipped) Skink	1	New Caledonia	Formerly considered a Eugongylus species. B I
Glaphyromorphus	(Bar-Lipped) Skinks, Pygmy Tree Skinks	12	Australia, Indonesia	B I
Gnypetoscincus	Prickly Forest Skink	1	Australia (Queensland)	B I
Gongylomorphus	Bojer's Skink	3	Mauritius, possibly neighbouring islands	B I
Gongylus	Thick-Tailed Skinks	3	Australia	B I
Graciliscincus	Sadler's Skink	1	New Caledonia	B I
Grandidierina		4	Madagascar	Former Voeltzkowia species. B I
Haackgreerius	Haacke-Greer's Skink	1	Somalia	Formerly considered a Lygosoma species. B I
Hakaria		1	Socotra Island	B I
Harrisonia	Rainforest Cool Skink	1	Australia (NSW and Queensland)	B I
Hemiergis	Earless Skinks	7	Australia	B I
Hemisphaeriodon	Pink-Tongued Skink	1	Australia	Not quite as popular as the closely related Tiliqua species (Blue-Tongued Skinks) but still does well in captivity, with a marked preference for snails and other land molluscs. B I
Heremites	Grass Skinks and Bridled Skink	3		Former Eurasian Mabuya/Trachylepis species. B I
Insulasaurus		4	Philippines	Former Sphenomorphus species. B I
Isopachys	Isopachys Skinks	4	Thailand and Burma	B I
Janetaescincus	Janet's Skinks	2	Seychelles	Formerly considered Amphiglossus species. B I
Jarujinia		1	Thailand	B I
Kaestlea	Ground Skinks	5	S India	Former Scincella and Lygosoma species. Found in the Western and Eastern Ghats. B I
Kanakysaurus		2	New Caledonia	B I
Kuniesaurus		1	New Caledonia	B I
Lacertaspis	Lidless Skinks	5	Equatorial Africa	Obscure skink: even the EMBL listing for this species contains no information. The only information I have been able to find on the Internet is at http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/mhng/page/erpiamre.htm B I [Needs updating]
Lacertoides	New Caledonian Leopard Skink	1	New Caledonia	B I
Lamprolepis	Emerald Skinks?	3	Indonesia	Formerly larger: some species reassigned to the Dasia genus instead. B I
Lampropholis	Sunskinks	11	Australia	One species has been introduced in New Zealand and Hawaii. B I
Lankascincus	Tree Skinks	9	Sri Lanka	B I
Larutia	Larut Skinks	9		B I
Leiolopisima	Ground Skinks	3	Fiji, Indian Ocean (Mauritius and La Reunion)	The nine species of this genus seem to be either extinct or possibly synonymous with different creatures. See the EMBL database for more details. Originally this genus was much larger, comprising species (especially New Zealand skinks, now Cyclodina and Oligosoma ) which are now placed in their own genera. As such it was believed to be a link between the lizards of Australia and New Zealand (Mattison). Now restricted to just three oceanic islands. B I
Leptoseps	?	2	Thailand, Vietnam	B I
Leptosiaphos	Five-Toed Skinks	18	Africa	B I
Lerista	Sliders	97	Australia	This extremely large genus shows varying degrees of limb reduction from well-developed fore- and hind limbs through to just hind legs and finally complete limblessness. These are all burrowing skinks: most are brown, often with dark longitudinal lines or dark flanks (Mattison). All are insectivorous and some are associated with termite nests. B I
Liburnascincus	Rainbow Skinks	4	Australia	3 of this genus are former Carlia species. B I
Lioscincus	New Caledonian Skinks	6	New Caledonia	B I
Liopholis		12	Australia	Former Egernia species. B I
Lipinia	Lipinia Skinks	28	Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other Indian and Pacific oceanic islands	B I
Lissolepis	Mourning Skinks	2	Australia	Former Egernia species. B I
Lobulia	Lobulia Skinks	7	New Guinea	Now reduced in size, with some species being reassigned to four new genera: Alpinoscincus, Nubeoscincus, Ornithuroscincus, Palaia. B I
Lubuya	Ivens' Skinks	1	Somalia	B I
Lygisaurus	Litter Skinks	14	New Guinea (?), mainly Australia	B I
Lygosoma	Writhing Skinks	16	Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian subcontinent	Formerly referred to as a “waste taxon”, with many Lygosoma species now reassigned to other genera. B I
Mabuya	Typical Skinks	9	Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian subcontinent, SE Asia, Indo-Pacific, S America and Caribbean	Once a very large and cosmopolitan genus that was however broken up into four large genera, and later into several more. Under the penultimate organisation, only those species distributed in South America were still considered Mabuya: the others were reassigned to Chioninia, Trachylepis and Eutropis. The most recent major reorganisation by Hedges and Conn also reassigned many New World Mabuya to different genera. B I
Madascincus		12	Madagascar	B I
Manciola	Dunn's Mabuya, South American Small-Handed Skink	1	Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay	Former Mabuya species. B I
Maracaiba		2	Colombia, Venezuela	Considered by some authorities to still be Mabuya skinks. B I
Marisora		13	Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and Colombia and Venezuela	Former Mabuya species. B I
Marmorosophax	?	5	New Caledonia	B I
Melanoseps	Limbless Skinks	8	Africa	Limbless skinks. B I
Menetia	Dwarf Skinks	6	Australia	3 species now reassigned to Pygmaescincus. B I
Mesoscincus	?	3	Central America	Three species formerly included in the Eumeces genus. B I
Mochlus	Fire Skinks	19	Sub-Saharan Africa	B I
Morethia	Morethia/Fire-Tailed Skinks	3	Australia	B I
Nangura	Nangur Skink	1	Queensland, Australia	B I
Nannoscincus	Elf/Mulch Skinks	12	Mainly New Caledonia, one in Australia	B I
Neoseps	Sand Skink	1	Florida, USA	Now reassigned to Eumeces or Plestiodon by authorities. B I
Nessia	Nessia Skinks	9	Sri Lanka	B I
Notomabuya	Cope's Mabuya	1	Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina	Former Mabuya species.
Notoscincus	Soil-Crevice Skinks	2	Australia	Small skinks with pentadactyl limbs and small ear openings. Not much known about their ecology, etc. B I
Nubeoscincus		2	Indonesia and Papua New Guiniea	Former Lobulia species.
Oligosoma	Common (New Zealand) Skinks	55	New Zealand	This genus was formally reinstated by Patterson and Daugherty in 1995 (see Royal Society of New Zealand). Only one is egg-laying. Now includes former Cyclodina species. B I
Ophiomorus	Snake-Eyed Skinks?	12	Mainly Middle East and Central Asia: also India and Greece	B I
Ophioscincus	Snake Skinks	3	Australia	B I
Ornithuroscincus		9	Pacific, concentrated on Papua New Guinea	Former Lipinia and Lobulia species. One species, O. noctua, is particularly widespread throughout the Pacific. B I
Orosaura	Venezuelan Mountain Skink	1	Venezuela	Former Mabuya species. B I
Otosaurus	Cuming's Sphenomorphus	1	Philippines	Formerly assigned to Sphenomorphus. B I
Palaia		1	Papua New Guinea	Former Lipinia species. B I
Pamelaescincus	Gardiner's Skink	1	Seychelles	Formerly considered a member of Amphiglossus or Scelotes. B I
Panaspis	Snake-Eyed Skinks	21	Sub-Saharan Africa	Terrestrial and fossorial species. B I
Panopa	Carvalho's Mabuya, Horton's Mabuya	2	Venezuela, Brazil	Former Mabuya species. B I
Papuascincus	Papua Skinks	4	New Guinea, Irian Jaya (Indonesia)	B I
Paracontias	Stone Skinks	14	Madagascar	Now includes the species formerly assigned to Cryptoscincus. B I
Paralipinia	Double Subdigital-Pads Skink	1	Vietnam	Now assigned to Scincella. B I
Parvoscincus	Diminutive Skinks	24	Philippines	B I
Phaeoscincus		2	New Caledonia	B I
Phasmasaurus	Maquis Skinks	2	New Caledonia	Former Lioscincus species. B I
Phoboscincus	Garnier's Skinks	2	New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands	B I
Pinoyscincus		5	Philippines	Former Sphenomorphus species. B I
Plestiodon	Five-Lined Skinks, Opaque-Lidded Skinks	51	North America and Asia	Species formerly assigned to Eumeces. Some of the North American species are kept as pets. B I
Praeteropus	Worm-Skinks	4	Australia	Based on former Anomalopus species. B I
Prasinohaema	Green Tree Skink	5	Mainly New Guinea, also Solomon Islands	The name of this genus is derived from the green blood of its species. This green colour is actually caused by a pigment, but the reason for this is as yet unknown. B I
Proablepharus	Soil-Crevice Skinks	2	Australia	B I
Proscelotes	Slender Skinks	3	S & E Africa	B I
Protoblepharus		3	India, China (Tibet)	Genus first created from former Asymblepharus and Scincella species in 2020. B I
Pseudemoia	Window-Eyed Skinks	6	Australia, Indonesia	B I
Pseudoacontias	Giant Madagascar Skinks	2	Madagascar	B I
Psychosaura	Vibora, Hoge's Mabuya	2	Brazil	B I
Pygmaeascincus	Dwarf Skinks, Dwarf Litter-Skink	3	Australia	Former Mabuya species. B I
Pygomeles	Short Skinks	3	Madagascar	Legless skinks. B I
Riopa	Supple Skinks, Writhing Skinks	9	Indian subcontinent to SE Asia	B I
Ristella	Ristella Skinks	4	India	B I
Saiphos	Three-Toed Skink	1	Australia (NSW and Queensland)	B I
Saproscincus	Shade Skinks/ Litter Skinks	12	Australia (NSW and Queensland)	B I
Scelotes	Dwarf Burrowing Skinks	22	Mainly S Africa, one in Tanzania	B I
Scincella	Smooth Skinks /Ground Skinks	39	Mainly Indian subcontinent, China and SE Asia, but also N America and Mexico	B I
Scincopus	Banded Skink	1	North Africa and Sahara	B I
Scincus	Sandfish	5	N Africa, Sahara, C Africa, Arabia, Middle East, C Asia and Pakistan	Burrowing skinks with four limbs but shovel-like snout. B I
Scolecoseps	Limbless Skinks?	4	Tanzania and Mozambique	B I
Sepsina	Savannah Burrowing Skinks	5	Sub-Saharan Africa	B I
Sepsiscus	Cape York Worm-Skink	1	Australia (Queensland)	Former Anomalopus species. B I
Sepsophis	Spotted Eastern Ghats Skink	1	India
Sigaloseps	?	6	New Caledonia	B I
Silvascincus	Forest Skinks	2	Australia	Considered Karma species by some authorities.
Simiscincus	?	1	New Caledonia	B I
Sphenomorphus	Forest Skinks	115	SE Asia, Indonesia, Pacific and Australia	B I
Spondylurus	Antillean Four-Lined Skinks	17	Caribbean	Former Mabuya species. B I
Subdoluseps		8		Former Lygosoma species. B I
Tachygia	?	1	Tonga	Probably extinct: see Reptile Database entry. B I
Techmarscincus	Bartle-Frere Cool-Skink	1	NE Australia (Queensland, Cape York peninsula)	Formerly assigned to Bartleia. B I
Tiliqua	Blue-Tongued Skinks, Pine Cone Skink	7	Australia, New Guinea	Popular terrarium subjects, these are large skinks with no limb reduction and somewhat cylindrical bodies. All are viviparous. The genus now includes what was formerly Trachydosaurus. B I
Toenayar	Anderson's Mabuya, Nine-Keeled Sun Skink	1	SE Asia	Former Mabuya/Eutropis species. B I
Trachylepis	Afro-Malagasy Skinks	87		Contains all African and Malagasy skinks formerly referred to Mabuya and (briefly) to Euprepis.
Tribolonotus	Helmet Skinks	10	Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and neighbouring islands.	These are rather atypical-looking skinks, having heavily keeled and spiny scales. Their preferred habitat seems to be streams; running water in any captive situation appears to be highly beneficial if not mandatory. All lay a single egg per clutch apart from T. schmidtii, which gives birth to a single young. B I
Tropidophorus	Keeled Skinks	29	Mainly SE Asia, also China and Indonesia	Similar in form to the Tribolonotus genus. B I
Tropidoscincus	New Caledonian Whiptailed Skinks?	3	New Caledonia	A recently described genus. B I
Tumbunascincus	Orange-Speckled Forest Skink	1	Australia (Queensland)	Considered to belong to Magmellia by some authorities. B I
Typhlacontias	Western Burrowing Skinks	7	S Africa	B I
Typhlosaurus	Blind Legless Skinks	5	S Africa	Very fossorial genus. B I
Tytthoscincus		22	SE Asia	Former Sphenomorphus species. B I
Varzea		2	South America	Former Mabuya species. B I
Vietnascincus		1	Vietnam	No data yet available. B I
Voeltzkowia	Burrowing Blind Skinks	3	Madagascar	B I

Bibliography - Skinks

There seems to be no one single work (at least outside academic circles) dealing with the family Scincidae in its entirety, the nearest popular treatment being Walls' Skinks (see below). Skinks are mentioned in most books dealing with lizards as a whole, but even then usually concentrate (understandably) on that relative handful which are kept on a regular basis in captivity. It is to be hoped that a larger book similar to TFH's Agamid Lizards or Iguanid Lizards will soon appear.

Skinks, Jerry G Walls, TFH 1996. This is a good basic introduction to the family, written from a keeper's point of view and dealing with the better known or more unusual species continent by continent. Walls is a good writer on most herpetocultural and other animal subjects, and this is a good place to start.

Animal Life Encyclopedia Volume 6: Reptiles, Grzimek,1975 provided an overview of the general characteristics of skinks and of some of the lesser-known families.

Index of Skink-related articles from herpetological magazines.

Bibliography: specific genera

Tiliqua, Blue-Tongued Skinks

Blue-Tongued Skinks: Keeping and Breeding Them in Captivity, Jerry G Walls, TFH 1996. Walls writes well on most herpetological and invertebrate subjects, and this brief book is no exception, covering the taxonomy and requirements not only of the Tiliqua species but also of Cyclodomorphus (Oak Skinks), Hemisphaeriodon [Cyclodomorphus] (Pink-Tongued Skink) and Trachydosaurus [Tiliqua] (Pine Cone Skink).

Corucia, Monkey/Prehensile-Tailed Skinks

General Care and Maintenance of Prehensile-Tailed Skinks, Philippe de Vosjoli, Herpetocultural Library. A very handy book covering the necessary requirements for these lizards. TFH have also produced a book by John Coborn covering these unique skinks.

Links

Our thanks as always to the Reptile Database for the taxonomic information.

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