NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Steindachner's Emo Skink
Emoia adspersa (Steindachner, 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.
geographic distribution of Emoia adspersa (Native: American Samoa (American Samoa, American Samoa, Swains Is.); Cook Islands (Cook Is.); Samoa; Tokelau; Tuvalu; Wallis and Futuna)
compiled by rbrausse with Quantum GIS Map data: Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Range data: Allison, A. & Austin, C.C. 2010. Emoia adspersa. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 11 March 2013. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Emoia adspersa, Steindachner's emo skink, the Micronesian skink, dark-sided emoia, dark-sided skink, or dateline emoia, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is found in Micronesia. The species has also been noted to occur on Niuafoʻou, the northernmost island of Tonga, with sightings in 1930 and 1994. The species is not present on other Tongan islands, and is possibly present due to waif dispersal occurring during Polynesian migration.
Wikipedia contributors, Emoia adspersa; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:56:50.484022+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Emoia adspersa (Steindachner, 1870)
- Name authority
- (Steindachner, 1870)
- Common name
- Steindachner's Emo Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Emoia
- 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
- subfamilyEugongylinae
- genusEmoia
- speciesEmoia adspersa (Steindachner, 1870)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Emoia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Battersby's Emo SkinkEmoia battersbyi (Procter, 1923) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Great Bight Cool-skink; Baudin’s SkinkEmoia baudini (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brongersma's Emo SkinkEmoia brongersmai Brown, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Copper-tailed SkinkEmoia cyanura (Lesson, 1829) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow-throated Emo SkinkEmoia flavigularis Schmidt, 1932 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Allison's Emo SkinkEmoia guttata Brown & Allison, 1986 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Irian Emo SkinkEmoia irianensis Brown, 1991 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kopstein's Emo SkinkEmoia jakati (Kopstein, 1926) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meyer's Emo SkinkEmoia kordoana (Meyer, 1874) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bourret's Emo SkinkEmoia laobaoensis Bourret, 1937 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Loveridge's EmoSkinkEmoia loveridgei Brown, 1953 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Great Emo SkinkEmoia maxima Brown, 1953 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Euprepes (Mabuia) parvisquameus Peters, 1874 Peters, 1874 | synonym |
| Eumeces (Mabuya) adspersus Steindachner, 1870 Steindachner, 1870 | synonym |
| Eumeces microlepis Fischer, 1886 Fischer, 1886 | ambiguous 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=Emoia&species=adspersa 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.
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:6F6SX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.