NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Azure-tailed Skink
Emoia impar (Werner, 1898)
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
Emoia impar, also known as the dark-bellied copper-striped skink, or the azure-tailed skink, is a species of skink that is widespread in the Pacific, especially Polynesia and Micronesia. While common throughout its range, it is threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, and sea level rise due to global warming. It is a naturalized species in the Hawaiian Islands, most likely introduced by the Polynesians, but has been almost entirely extirpated from there, possibly as a result of the invasive big-headed ant. It disappeared from most islands by the early 20th century, persisting on the Na Pali Coast of Kauaʻi until the 1960s. Alleged sightings on Kauaʻi up to the 1990s were found to have been an introduced population of E. cyanura that was introduced in the 1970s and persisted for up to two decades. While some studies have claimed that it has been entirely extirpated from Hawaii, it actually still persists on the offshore islet of Mōkapu, Molokai, where it has a stable population.
Wikipedia contributors, Emoia impar; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:16:19.910798+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Emoia impar (Werner, 1898)
- Name authority
- (Werner, 1898)
- Common name
- Azure-tailed 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 impar (Werner, 1898)
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 |
|---|---|
| Lygosoma cyanurum var. schauinslandi Werner, 1901 Werner, 1901 | synonym |
| Mabuya deserticola Dunn, 1936 Dunn, 1936 | synonym |
| Lygosoma (Emoa) impar Werner, 1898 Werner, 1898 | 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=impar 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:6F6SZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.