NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Gidgee Skink
Egernia stokesii (Gray, 1845)
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
Egernia stokesii is a gregarious species of lizard of the Scincidae family. This diurnal species is endemic to Australia, and is also known as the Gidgee skink, spiny-tailed skink, Stokes's skink and Stokes's egernia. The species forms stable, long-term social aggregations, much like the social groups seen in mammalian and avian species. This characteristic is rarely found in the Squamata order, but is widespread within the Australian subfamily of Egerniinae skinks. Populations of E. stokesii are widely distributed, but fragmented, and occur in semi-arid environments. There are three recognised subspecies. The conservation status for the species is listed as least concern, however, one subspecies is listed as endangered.
Wikipedia contributors, Stokes's skink; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:06.107403+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Egernia stokesii (Gray, 1845)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1845)
- Common name
- Gidgee Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Egernia
- 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
- subfamilyEgerniinae
- genusEgernia
- speciesEgernia stokesii (Gray, 1845)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Egernia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Tree SkinkEgernia striolata (Peters, 1870) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pilbara Crevice SkinkEgernia pilbarensis Storr, 1978 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yakka SkinkEgernia rugosa de Vis, 1888 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cunningham's SkinkEgernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hosmer's Spiny-tailed SkinkEgernia hosmeri Kinghorn, 1955 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central Pygmy Spiny-tailed SkinkEgernia eos Doughty, Kealley & Donnellan, 2011 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Goldfields Crevice-skinkEgernia formosa Fry, 1914 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| South-western Crevice SkinkEgernia napoleonis (Gray, 1838) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kaputar Rock SkinkEgernia roomi (Wells & Wellington, 1985) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Silubosaurus stokesii Gray, 1845 Gray, 1845 | synonym |
| Silubosaurus zellingi de Vis, 1884 de Vis, 1884 | synonym |
| Egernia stokesii aethiops Storr, 1978 Storr, 1978 | 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=Egernia&species=stokesii 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:6DWYC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.