Lampropholis

Lampropholis
Lampropholis guichenoti, common garden skink
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
Subfamily:	Eugongylinae
Genus:	Lampropholis Fitzinger, 1843
Species
15, see text

Lampropholis is a genus of skinks, commonly known as sunskinks, in the lizard subfamily Eugongylinae of the family Scincidae. ^[1] The genus Lampropholis was previously found to belong to a clade with the genera Niveoscincus , Leiolopisma and others of the Eugongylus group within Lygosominae. ^[2] All species of Lampropholis are endemic to Australia. For similar skinks see genera Bassiana , Pseudemoia , and Niveoscincus .

Diet

Sunskinks feed on invertebrates such as crickets, moths, slaters (woodlice), earthworms, and cockroaches.

Species

The following 15 species are recognized as being valid. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

• Lampropholis adonis Ingram, 1991 – diamond-shielded sunskink, Ingram's litter skink
• Lampropholis amicula Ingram & Rawlinson, 1981 – friendly sunskink
• Lampropholis bellendenkerensis Singhal, Hoskin, Couper, Potter & Moritz, 2018
• Lampropholis caligula Ingram & Rawlinson, 1981 – montane sunskink
• Lampropholis coggeri Ingram, 1991 – northern rainforest sunskink
• Lampropholis colossus Ingram, 1991 – Bunya sunskink
• Lampropholis couperi Ingram, 1991 – plain-backed sunskink
• Lampropholis delicata (De Vis, 1888) – delicate skink, rainbow skink, garden skink, delicate grass skink
• Lampropholis elliotensis Singhal, Hoskin, Couper, Potter & Moritz, 2018
• Lampropholis elongata Greer, 1997 – long sunskink, elongate sunskink
• Lampropholis guichenoti (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839) – common garden skink, pale-flecked garden sunskink, grass skink, Guichenot's grass skink
• Lampropholis isla (Hoskin, 2025) ^[6]
• Lampropholis mirabilis Ingram & Rawlinson, 1981 – saxicoline sunskink
• Lampropholis robertsi Ingram, 1991 – grey-bellied sunskink
• Lampropholis similis Singhal, Hoskin, Couper, Potter & Moritz, 2018 – southern rainforest sunskink

Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Lampropholis.

References

1. Uetz, P.; et al. (eds.). "Eugongylinae". The Reptile Database . Retrieved 10 October 2019.
2. Austin JJ, Arnold EN (2006). "Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution39 (2): 503–511. doi : 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract).
3. Lampropholis. The Reptile Database.
4. Wilson S, Swan G (2006). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Second Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishing. 512 pp. ISBN   978-1877069468.
5. Wells RW (2002). "Some Taxonomic Changes to the Genus Lampropholis (Reptilia: Scincidae) from Australia" Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine . Australian Biodiversity Record (8): 1-24.
6. Hoskin, Conrad J. (2025-01-27). "A new species of Lampropholis skink (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from Scawfell Island, mid-east Queensland, Australia". Australian Journal of Taxonomy. 85: 1–13.

Further reading

• Fitzinger (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Lampropholis, new genus, p. 22). (in Latin).