NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Greater Saint Croix Skink
Spondylurus magnacruzae Hedges & Conn, 2012
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
Spondylurus magnacruzae, the greater Saint Croix skink, is a species of skink found on Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
It was formerly present across most of Saint Croix where it was sighted with some regularity, but was largely extirpated from the island by the late 19th century due to the introduced small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata). From then onwards, the species was only known from the satellite island of Green Cay, where it is known from a specimen collected in 1964. Further surveys detected only two other sightings: once in 1987 (this individual was photographed, and this remains the only known photograph of a live S. magnacruzae) and once in September 2000. No further sightings have been recorded since then. Green Cay is a small island and also supports black rats (Rattus rattus), which may threaten any surviving populations of the species.
Wikipedia contributors, Spondylurus magnacruzae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:42:41.193511+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Spondylurus magnacruzae Hedges & Conn, 2012
- Name authority
- Hedges & Conn, 2012
- Common name
- Greater Saint Croix Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Spondylurus
- 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
- subfamilyMabuyinae
- genusSpondylurus
- speciesSpondylurus magnacruzae Hedges & Conn, 2012
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Spondylurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mona SkinkSpondylurus monae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anguilla Bank SkinkSpondylurus powelli Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Monito SkinkSpondylurus monitae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Virgin Islands Bronze SkinkSpondylurus sloanii (Daudin, 1803) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lesser Virgin Islands SkinkSpondylurus semitaeniatus (Wiegmann, 1837) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Greater Virgin Islands SkinkSpondylurus spilonotus (Wiegmann, 1837) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Turks Islands SkinkSpondylurus turksae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anegada SkinkSpondylurus anegadae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hispaniolan Four-lined SkinkSpondylurus haitiae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Jamaican SkinkSpondylurus fulgidus Cope, 1862 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carrot Rock SkinkSpondylurus macleani (Mayer & Lazell, 2000) | 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=Spondylurus&species=magnacruzae 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:6ZCCF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.