NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ceylon Tree Skink
Lankascincus taprobanensis (Kelaart, 1854)
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
Lankascincus taprobanensis, also known commonly as the Ceylon tree skink and the smooth Lanka skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Sphenomorphinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka.
Wikipedia contributors, Lankascincus taprobanensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:10:02.583093+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lankascincus taprobanensis (Kelaart, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Kelaart, 1854)
- Common name
- Ceylon Tree Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Lankascincus
- 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
- subfamilyRistellinae
- genusLankascincus
- speciesLankascincus taprobanensis (Kelaart, 1854)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lankascincus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lankascincus dorsicatenatus (Deraniyagala, 1953) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gans' Tree SkinkLankascincus gansi Greer, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sripada forest skinkLankascincus sripadensis Mendis Wickramasinghe, Rodrigo, Dayawansa & Jayantha, 2007 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Merrill‟s Lanka-skinkLankascincus merrill Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana & Wickramasinghe, 2020 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Deignan Tree SkinkLankascincus deignani (Taylor, 1950) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peters' Tree SkinkLankascincus fallax (Peters, 1860) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Taylor's Tree SkinkLankascincus taylori Greer, 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 |
|---|---|
| Lygosoma striatopunctatum Ahl, 1925 Ahl, 1925 | synonym |
| Eumeces taprobanensis Kelaart, 1854 Kelaart, 1854 | synonym |
| Lygosoma punctatolineatum Boulenger, 1907 Boulenger, 1907 | ambiguous synonym |
| Lankascincus munindradasai Mendis Wickramasinghe, Rodrigo, Dayawansa & Jayantha, 2007 Mendis Wickramasinghe, Rodrigo, Dayawansa & Jayantha, 2007 | 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=Lankascincus&species=taprobanensis 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:3S7DB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.