NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Broadhead Skink
Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider, 1801)
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 broad-headed skink or broadhead skink (Plestiodon laticeps) is species of lizard, endemic to the southeastern United States. The broadhead skink occurs in sympatry with the five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) and Southeastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus) in forest of the Southeastern United States. All three species are phenotypically similar throughout much of their development and were considered a single species prior to the mid-1930s.
Wikipedia contributors, Plestiodon laticeps; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:47:24.506955+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Schneider, 1801)
- Common name
- Broadhead Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Plestiodon
- 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
- genusPlestiodon
- speciesPlestiodon laticeps (Schneider, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Plestiodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Four-lined SkinkPlestiodon tetragrammus Baird, 1859 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Shanghai Elegant SkinkPlestiodon elegans (Boulenger, 1887) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Plestiodon multivirgatus Hallowell, 1858 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chinese blue-tailed SkinkPlestiodon chinensis (Gray, 1839) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Two-lined Short-nosed SkinkPlestiodon bilineatus (Tanner, 1958) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Five-lined SkinkPlestiodon fasciatus (Linnaeus, 1758) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Japanese SkinkPlestiodon kishinouyei (Stejneger, 1901) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ousima SkinkPlestiodon marginatus Hallowell, 1861 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pope's SkinkPlestiodon popei (Hikida, 1989) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Colima SkinkPlestiodon colimensis (Taylor, 1935) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Shortnose SkinkPlestiodon brevirostris (Günther, 1860) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Duges' SkinkPlestiodon dugesii (Thominot, 1883) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Scincus laticeps Schneider, 1801 Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Scincus bicolor Harlan, 1824 Harlan, 1824 | synonym |
| Sclncus erythrocephalus Gilliams, 1818 Gilliams, 1818 | synonym |
| Scincus americanus Harlan, 1835 Harlan, 1835 | synonym |
| Eumeces polygrammus Cope, 1900 Cope, 1900 | 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=Plestiodon&species=laticeps 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:6VQDY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.