NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black-Spotted Skink
Copeoglossum nigropunctatum (Spix, 1825)
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
Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, also known as the black-spotted skink, common coppery mabuya, or South American spotted skink, is a species of skink found in South America. It has shiny bronze or copper skin, with a dark longitudinal stripe along each flank that is often bordered by cream-colored lines.
It has been recorded as present in much of the northern South America and the Amazon River Basin, including Venezuela, the Guyanas (Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname), Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
Wikipedia contributors, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:39:44.923095+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Copeoglossum nigropunctatum (Spix, 1825)
- Name authority
- (Spix, 1825)
- Common name
- Black-Spotted Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Copeoglossum
- 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
- genusCopeoglossum
- speciesCopeoglossum nigropunctatum (Spix, 1825)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Copeoglossum. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Copeoglossum oreades Ferreira-Junior, Vrcibradic, Sudré & Passos, 2025 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Greater Windward SkinkCopeoglossum aurae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Copeoglossum margaritae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Redonda SkinkCopeoglossum redondae Hedges & Conn, 2012 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Copeoglossum cinctum Tschudi, 1845 Tschudi, 1845 | synonym |
| Scincus nigropunctatus Spix, 1825 Spix, 1825 | 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=Copeoglossum&species=nigropunctatum 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:Y3JT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.