NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ground Skink
Scincella lateralis (Say, 1822)
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
Scincella lateralis, formerly Lygosoma laterale is a small species of skink found throughout much of the eastern half of the United States, and into northern Mexico. The ground skink differs from the majority of North American lizard species in that it is generally considered a forest dweller. Common names for this species include the little brown skink and the ground skink. However, the common name, ground skink, may refer to any species in the genus Scincella.
Wikipedia contributors, Scincella lateralis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:06.108403+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Scincella lateralis (Say, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Say, 1822)
- Common name
- Ground Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Scincella
- 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
- subfamilySphenomorphinae
- genusScincella
- speciesScincella lateralis (Say, 1822)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Scincella. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Huulien Ground SkinkScincella apraefrontalis Nguyen, Nguyen, Böhme & Ziegler, 2010 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ground SkinkScincella assata (Cope, 1864) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Barbour's Ground SkinkScincella barbouri (Stejneger, 1925) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boettger's Ground SkinkScincella boettgeri (Van Denburgh, 1912) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Forbe’s Forest Ground SkinkScincella forbesorum (Taylor, 1937) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Van Denburgh's Ground SkinkScincella formosensis (Van Denburgh, 1912) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cope’s Forest Ground SkinkScincella gemmingeri (Cope, 1864) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scincella huanrenensis Zhao & Huang, 1982 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Large- eared ground skinkScincella macrotis (Steindachner, 1867) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scincella potanini (Günther, 1896) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Burma Smooth SkinkScincella punctatolineata (Boulenger, 1893) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Double subdigital-pads skinkScincella rara (Darevsky & Orlov, 1997) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Scincus lateralis Say ex James, 1822 Say ex James, 1822 | synonym |
| Hombronia fasciolaris Girard, 1858 Girard, 1858 | 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=Scincella&species=lateralis 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:4VK34. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.