NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Burks’ Burrowing Skink
Brachymeles burksi Taylor, 1917
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
Brachymeles burksi, the Burks' burrowing skink, is a species of skink endemic to the Philippines. It occurs on the islands of Mindoro and Marinduque. It was synonymized with Brachymeles bonitae by Walter C. Brown in 1956 but revalidated by Cameron D. Siler and colleagues in 2020.
Brachymeles burksi measures 58–78 mm (2.3–3.1 in) in snout–vent length. It has short, digitless limbs (many Brachymeles are limbless).
Wikipedia contributors, Brachymeles burksi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:04:12.234472+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Brachymeles burksi Taylor, 1917
- Name authority
- Taylor, 1917
- Common name
- Burks’ Burrowing Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Brachymeles
- 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
- genusBrachymeles
- speciesBrachymeles burksi Taylor, 1917
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Brachymeles. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bicol Slender SkinkBrachymeles bicolandia Siler, Fuiten, Jones, Alcala & Brown, 2011 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Graceful Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles suluensis Taylor, 1918 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tablas Slender SkinkBrachymeles dalawangdaliri Davis, Geheber, Watters, Penrod, Feller, Ashford, Kouri, Nguyen, Shauberger, Sheatsley, Winfrey, Wong, Sanguila, Brown & Siler, 2016 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ilokano Slender SkinkBrachymeles ilocandia Siler, Davis, Freitas, Huron, Geheber, Watters, Penrod, Papes, Amrein, Anwawr, Cooper Hein, Manning, Patel, Pinaroc, Diesmos, Diesmos, Oliveros & Brown, 2016 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lubang Slender SkinkBrachymeles ligtas Geheber, Davis, Watters, Penrod, Feller, Davey, Ellsworth, Flanagan, Heitz, Moore, Nguyen, Roberts, Sutton, Sanguila, Linkem, Brown & Siler, 2016 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Two-colored Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles bicolor (Gray, 1845) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bohol Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles boholensis Brown & Rabor, 1967 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pretty Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles bonitae Duméril & Bibron, 1839 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boulenger's Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles boulengeri Taylor, 1922 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Common Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles elerae Taylor, 1917 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Graceful Short-legged SkinkBrachymeles gracilis (Fischer, 1885) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aurora Slender SkinkBrachymeles isangdaliri Davis, Feller, Brown & Siler, 2014 | 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=Brachymeles&species=burksi 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:882V6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.