NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Pathfinder Short-legged Skink

Brachymeles pathfinderi Taylor, 1925

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.

geographic distribution of Brachymeles pathfinderi
compiled by rbrausse with Quantum GIS Map data: Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Range data: Diesmos, A. 2009. Brachymeles pathfinderi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 02 November 2012. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source
Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

Brachymeles pathfinderi, also known commonly as the pathfinder short-legged skink and the Cotabato worm skink, is a species of semifossorial lizard in the subfamily Scincinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southern Philippines. First described in 1925 by American herpetologist Edward Harrison Taylor, it is notable for its slender body, highly reduced limbs, and the unusual condition of having five minute clawed toes on the forelimbs and four on the hind limbs. The species is known almost exclusively from the vicinity of Glan in southern Mindanao and remains one of the least-documented members of its genus.

Wikipedia contributors, Brachymeles pathfinderi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:07:52.998430+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name: Brachymeles pathfinderi Taylor, 1925
Name authority: Taylor, 1925
Common name: Pathfinder 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 pathfinderi Taylor, 1925

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
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

Browse 1,330 records assigned to Scincidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Philippines (Mindanao)

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=pathfinderi 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:MX5Q. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.