NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Dark-flecked garden sunskink
Lampropholis delicata (de Vis, 1888)
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
Lampropholis delicata, the delicate skink, dark-flecked garden sun skink, garden skink, delicate garden skink, rainbow skink or plague skink, or the metallic skink is native to Australia and invasive in New Zealand and Hawaii where it is commonly found in gardens. The species is known for their color dimorphism between males and females; striped morphs and non-striped morphs exist in this species, however the stripe is less pronounced in males. This species' diet consists of a wide range of prey, such as spiders, bees, larvae, and termites. Mating occurs in the late summer and generally one clutch of 2 to 4 eggs are laid per year by each female.
Wikipedia contributors, Lampropholis delicata; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:04:53.724942+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lampropholis delicata (de Vis, 1888)
- Name authority
- (de Vis, 1888)
- Common name
- Dark-flecked garden sunskink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Lampropholis
- 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
- genusLampropholis
- speciesLampropholis delicata (de Vis, 1888)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lampropholis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Elongate sunskinkLampropholis elongata Greer, 1997 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Garden SkinkLampropholis guichenoti (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diamond Shielded SunskinkLampropholis adonis Ingram, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bellenden Ker sunskinkLampropholis bellendenkerensis Singhal, Hoskin, Couper, Potter & Moritz, 2018 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scawfell Island SunskinkLampropholis isla Hoskin, 2025 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Friendly SunskinkLampropholis amicula Ingram & Rawlinson, 1981 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Montane SunskinkLampropholis caligula Ingram & Rawlinson, 1981 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rainforest SunskinkLampropholis coggeri Ingram, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bunya SunskinkLampropholis colossus Ingram, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Plain-backed SunskinkLampropholis couperi Ingram, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Grey-bellied SunskinkLampropholis robertsi Ingram, 1991 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Leiolopisma hawaiiensis Loveridge, 1939 Loveridge, 1939 | synonym |
| Allengreerus delicata jackyhoserae Hoser, 2012 Hoser, 2012 | synonym |
| Mocoa delicata de Vis, 1888 de Vis, 1888 | synonym |
| Lygosoma cupreus Boulenger, 1890 Boulenger, 1890 | 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=Lampropholis&species=delicata 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:3S4XR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.