Emoia sanfordi

Emoia sanfordi
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scinciformata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Eugongylidae
Genus:	Emoia
Species:	E. sanfordi
Binomial name
	Emoia sanfordi; Schmidt & Burt, 1930

Last updated September 29, 2025

Emoia sanfordi, known commonly as Sanford's emo skink and Sanford's tree skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Vanuatu.^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, sanfordi, is in honor of American ornithologist Leonard Cutler Sanford.^[3]

Common names

In Vanuatu, E. sanfordi is known as a-kal in the southern Paamese language and ghala [ɣala] in the Raga language.^[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of E. sanfordi is forest, at altitudes of 0–1,500 m (0–4,921 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

E. sanfordi is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 Harlow, P. (2013). "Emoia sanfordi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T196619A2467111. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T196619A2467111.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
1 2 Emoia sanfordi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 September 2019.
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Emoia sanfordi, p. 232).
↑ Ross, Malcolm (2011). "Concluding notes". pp. 427-436. In: Ross, Malcolm; Pawley, Andrew; Osmond, Meredith (editors) (2011). The lexicon of Proto Oceanic: The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society. Volume 4: Animals. Canberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics 621.

Brown WC (1991). "Lizards of the Genus Emoia (Scincidae) with Observations on Their Evolution and Biogeography". Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences (15): i-vi, 1-94. (Emoia sanfordi, pp. 61–62, Figure 24).
Schmidt KP, Burt CE (1930). "Herpetological results of the Whitney South Sea Expedition. V. Description of Emoia sanfordi, a new lizard from islands of the Western Pacific (Scincidæ)". American Museum Novitates (436): 1–3. (Emoia sanfordi, new species).

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[iucn_status_19_November_2021-1] 1 2 Harlow, P. (2013). "Emoia sanfordi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T196619A2467111. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T196619A2467111.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 Emoia sanfordi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 September 2019.

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Emoia sanfordi, p. 232).

[4] Ross, Malcolm (2011). "Concluding notes". pp. 427-436. In: Ross, Malcolm; Pawley, Andrew; Osmond, Meredith (editors) (2011). The lexicon of Proto Oceanic: The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society. Volume 4: Animals. Canberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics 621.

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