Jamaican Giant Galliwasp

Open encyclopedia reference

The Jamaican giant galliwasp or sinking galliwasp (Celestus occiduus) is a possibly extinct species of lizard in the Diploglossidae. It was endemic to Jamaica. It was last recorded in mid-19th century. Its population was ravaged and likely exterminated by introduced predators like mongooses. Recent surveys, while extensive, have not yet been exhaustive, given the difficulties of access into and around the Black River Morass, leaving room for some hope that the species may persist.

The Jamaican galliwasp was the largest anguid skink on the island with a head-body length of 32 cms. Early observers noted that lived in holes near swamps and fed on crabs but it more likely lived among rocks and fed on insects. The last record of the species was in 1840. The lizard was stout and the forelimb was a third longer than the head. The tail was laterally compressed and the light brown body had about fifteen cross bands. Around 30 specimens are known in collections around the world.

Wikipedia contributors, Jamaican giant galliwasp; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:51:22.535337+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Celestus occiduus (Shaw, 1802)

Name authority

(Shaw, 1802)

Common name

Jamaican Giant Galliwasp

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Diploglossidae

Genus

Celestus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderAutarchoglossa
11. familyDiploglossidae
12. genusCelestus
13. speciesCelestus occiduus (Shaw, 1802)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Celestus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 54 records assigned to Diploglossidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Celestus&species=occiduus 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:S39X. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.