NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Littoral Whiptail-skink
Emoia atrocostata (Lesson, 1829)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Emoia atrocostata, commonly known as the littoral whiptail-skink, mangrove skink, or littoral skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It inhabits mangroves, back-beach vegetation and rocky shorelines. It is semi-aquatic and forages in tidal pools.
Wikipedia contributors, Emoia atrocostata; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:59:19.680648+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Emoia atrocostata (Lesson, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Lesson, 1829)
- Common name
- Littoral Whiptail-skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Emoia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyScincidae
- subfamilyEugongylinae
- genusEmoia
- speciesEmoia atrocostata (Lesson, 1829)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Emoia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Battersby's Emo SkinkEmoia battersbyi (Procter, 1923) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Great Bight Cool-skink; Baudin’s SkinkEmoia baudini (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brongersma's Emo SkinkEmoia brongersmai Brown, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Copper-tailed SkinkEmoia cyanura (Lesson, 1829) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow-throated Emo SkinkEmoia flavigularis Schmidt, 1932 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Allison's Emo SkinkEmoia guttata Brown & Allison, 1986 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Irian Emo SkinkEmoia irianensis Brown, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kopstein's Emo SkinkEmoia jakati (Kopstein, 1926) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meyer's Emo SkinkEmoia kordoana (Meyer, 1874) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bourret's Emo SkinkEmoia laobaoensis Bourret, 1937 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Loveridge's EmoSkinkEmoia loveridgei Brown, 1953 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Great Emo SkinkEmoia maxima Brown, 1953 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Emoia manni Brown, 1948 Brown, 1948 | synonym |
| Eumeces serratus Fischer, 1886 Fischer, 1886 | synonym |
| Euprepes (Mabuya) bitaeniatus Peters, 1864 Peters, 1864 | synonym |
| Euprepes (Mabuya) parietalis Peters, 1871 Peters, 1871 | synonym |
| Lygosoma sinus Smith, 1929 Smith, 1929 | synonym |
| Scincus atrocostatus Lesson, 1829 Lesson, 1829 | synonym |
| Emoia atrocostatum Barbour, 1912 Barbour, 1912 | synonym |
| Eumeces (Mabouya) singaporensis Steindachner, 1870 Steindachner, 1870 | synonym |
| Euprepes (Mabuia) microstictus Peters, 1874 Peters, 1874 | synonym |
| Mabouia irrorata Macleay, 1877 Macleay, 1877 | synonym |
| Mabouia marmorata Macleay, 1877 Macleay, 1877 | synonym |
| Mocoa cumingi Gray, 1845 Gray, 1845 | synonym |
| Euprepes marmorata Macleay, 1877 Macleay, 1877 | synonym |
| Gongylus (Eumeces) freycinetii Duméril & Bibron, 1839 Duméril & Bibron, 1839 | synonym |
| Emoia atrocostata irrorata Loveridge, 1948 Loveridge, 1948 | synonym |
| Mabouya jerdoniana Stoliczka, 1870 Stoliczka, 1870 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Emoia&species=atrocostata Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:39HB2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.