NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Chalcides pentadactylus (Beddome, 1870)
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
Chalcides pentadactylus, or five-fingered skink, is a species of skink found in the Western Ghats of India. Females of other species of the genus are viviparous, meaning that they give birth to live young. Almost nothing is known of C. pentadactylus. It is only known from the holotype which is lost [ fide Smith 1935]. Due to the loss of the only known specimen the true identity and origin of this skink, and its correct generic assignment, must await the examination of fresh material (Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu 2013).
Type locality: "Kuddle Poondy, a tidal river near Beypore" (= Kadal Undi, Beypur, 11° 11' N; 75° 49' E, in Kerala State, south-western India), Malabar district.
Wikipedia contributors, Chalcides pentadactylus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:21:45.209466+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chalcides pentadactylus (Beddome, 1870)
- Name authority
- (Beddome, 1870)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Chalcides
- 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
- genusChalcides
- speciesChalcides pentadactylus (Beddome, 1870)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Chalcides. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Duméril's Wedge-snouted SkinkChalcides sphenopsiformis (Duméril, 1856) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ocellated (Bronze) SkinkChalcides ocellatus (Forskål, 1775) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Armitage's Cylindrical SkinkChalcides armitagei Boulenger, 1922 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spanish Cylindrical SkinkChalcides bedriagai (Bosca, 1880) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ocellated skinkChalcides bottegi Boulenger, 1898 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boulenger's FeyliniaChalcides boulengeri Anderson, 1892 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cylindrical SkinkChalcides chalcides (Linnaeus, 1758) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Colosi's Cylindrical SkinkChalcides colosii Lanza, 1957 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ebner's Cylindrical SkinkChalcides ebneri Werner, 1931 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Günther's Cylindrical SkinkChalcides guentheri Boulenger, 1887 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chalcides lanzai Pasteur, 1967 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leviton's Cylindrical SkinkChalcides levitoni Pasteur, 1978 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sphenocephalus pentadactylus Beddome, 1870 Beddome, 1870 | 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=Chalcides&species=pentadactylus 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:5XQLL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.