NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Arnold's Montane Skink
Proscelotes arnoldi (Hewitt, 1932)
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
Proscelotes arnoldi, also known commonly as Arnold's skink or Arnold's montane skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Africa. Sometimes called a legless skink, it has tiny reduced limbs. The front limbs are very small, and both fore-limbs and hind-limbs have reduced function and appear to be vestigial attachments for its lifestyle and habitat.
Wikipedia contributors, Proscelotes arnoldi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:01:32.344053+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Proscelotes arnoldi (Hewitt, 1932)
- Name authority
- (Hewitt, 1932)
- Common name
- Arnold's Montane Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Proscelotes
- 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
- subfamilyScincinae
- genusProscelotes
- speciesProscelotes arnoldi (Hewitt, 1932)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Proscelotes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Montane SkinkProscelotes aenea (Barbour & Loveridge, 1928) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Usambara Five-toed SkinkProscelotes eggeli (Tornier, 1902) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Proscelotes arnoldi mlanjensis Broadley, 1963 Broadley, 1963 | synonym |
| Sepsina arnoldi Hewitt, 1932 Hewitt, 1932 | synonym |
| Scelotes arnoldi mlanjensis Broadley, 1963 Broadley, 1963 | 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=Proscelotes&species=arnoldi 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:4MV8S. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.