NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Two-colored Short-legged Skink
Brachymeles bicolor (Gray, 1845)
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.
Brachymeles bicolor (KU 330074) from mid-elevation, Mt. Cagua. Photo: RMB.
Brown R, Siler C, Oliveros C, Welton L, Rock A, Swab J, Van Weerd M, van Beijnen J, Rodriguez D, Jose E, Diesmos A · CC BY 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Brachymeles bicolor, common name two-colored short-legged skink, is a species of skink endemic to Luzon, the Philippines. It is widely distributed through the island, at elevations of 250 to 850 m above sea level. However, its population is declining due to deforestation, and hence the species is classified as least concern by the IUCN.
Wikipedia contributors, Brachymeles bicolor; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:14:49.049938+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Brachymeles bicolor (Gray, 1845)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1845)
- Common name
- Two-colored Short-legged 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 bicolor (Gray, 1845)
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 |
| Burks’ Burrowing SkinkBrachymeles burksi Taylor, 1917 | 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 |
| 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Senira bicolor Gray, 1845 Gray, 1845 | 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=Brachymeles&species=bicolor 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:MX4V. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.