NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Saltbush Morethia Skink
Morethia adelaidensis (Peters, 1874)
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.
North Adelaide Arid Zone, South Australia.
Matt from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The saltbush Morethia skink (Morethia adelaidensis), or more commonly referred to as saltbush skink, is a species of skink found in Australia. They are part of an 8 species genus of Morethia, which are all endemic to Australia. Akin to other members of the Morethia genus, saltbush skinks feature transparent disks as eye covers and eyelids which are stationary, along with specialised limbs which enable quick traversal of sand dunes. Taxonomically, the species was first classified by German explorer Wilhelm Karl Hartwig in 1871.
Wikipedia contributors, Morethia adelaidensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:35:27.188929+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Morethia adelaidensis (Peters, 1874)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1874)
- Common name
- Saltbush Morethia Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Morethia
- 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
- genusMorethia
- speciesMorethia adelaidensis (Peters, 1874)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Morethia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| West Coast Morethia SkinkMorethia lineoocellata (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lined Firetail SkinkMorethia ruficauda (Lucas & Frost, 1895) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Top End Firetail SkinkMorethia storri Greer, 1981 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fire-Tailed SkinkMorethia taeniopleura (Peters, 1874) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| South-eastern Morethia SkinkMorethia boulengeri (Ogilby, 1890) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Woodland Morethia SkinkMorethia butleri (Storr, 1963) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Shrubland Morethia SkinkMorethia obscura Storr, 1972 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Ablepharus (Morethia) anomalus (Adelaidensis) Peters, 1874 (Adelaidensis) Peters, 1874 | 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=Morethia&species=adelaidensis 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.
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:44D7H. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.