Sepsina copei

Sepsina copei
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scinciformata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Sepsina
Species:	S. copei
Binomial name
	Sepsina copei; Bocage, 1873

Last updated October 06, 2025

Sepsina copei, also known commonly as Cope's reduced-limb skink or the sepsina skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Angola.^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, copei, is in honor of American herpetologist and paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope.^[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. copei is savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft).^[1]

Description

S. copei may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 8 cm (3.1 in), and a tail length of 5 cm (2.0 in). The eye is small, and the lower eyelid is transparent. It has very short legs, with three toes on each foot. Dorsally, it is pale brown. Ventrally, it is whitish.^[4]

Behavior

S. copei is terrestrial and fossorial.^[1]

Reproduction

S. copei is viviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 3 Ceríaco, L.M.P.; Baptista, N.; Conradie, W. (2020). "Sepsina copei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T44979338A44979340. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44979338A44979340.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
1 2 Sepsina copei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 20 October 2020.
↑ 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. (Sepsina copei, p. 59).
↑ Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I–XL. ("Sepsina copii [sic]", p. 421).

"Barboza [sic] du Bocage, J. V." (1873). "Mélanges erpétologiques. II. Sur quelques Reptiles et Batraciens nouveaux, rares ou peu connus d'Afrique occidentale". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa4 (15): 209–227. (Sepsina copei, new species, pp. 212–213). (in French).
Marques MP, Ceríaco LMP, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM (2018). "Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola — Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840–2017)". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series65: 1–501. (Supplement II). (Sepsina copei, p. 252).

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[iucn_status_18_November_2021-1] 1 2 3 Ceríaco, L.M.P.; Baptista, N.; Conradie, W. (2020). "Sepsina copei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T44979338A44979340. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44979338A44979340.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 Sepsina copei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 20 October 2020.

[EDR-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. (Sepsina copei, p. 59).

[4] Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I–XL. ("Sepsina copii [sic]", p. 421).

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