NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Yakka Skink
Egernia rugosa de Vis, 1888
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
The yakka skink (Egernia rugosa) is a species of large skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to the Brigalow Belt in Queensland in eastern Australia.
It is listed as a vulnerable species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The yakka skink is brown with a dark stripe on its back and a paler, yellowy-orange underbelly. They live communally in burrows made of soil or wood mounds. Sometimes they take over abandoned rabbit holes. Each yakka skink's litter usually has two or three live babies. They are most active during the day, but are fairly retiring and return to their burrows if disturbed. Omnivores, they forage for insects but also eat fruits and soft leaves.
Wikipedia contributors, Yakka skink; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:27.305645+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Egernia rugosa de Vis, 1888
- Name authority
- de Vis, 1888
- Common name
- Yakka 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 rugosa de Vis, 1888
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gidgee SkinkEgernia stokesii (Gray, 1845) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tree SkinkEgernia striolata (Peters, 1870) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pilbara Crevice SkinkEgernia pilbarensis Storr, 1978 | 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 |
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=rugosa 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:6DWYM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.