''Eulamprus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s, commonly known as water skinks, in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Sphenomorphinae Sphenomorphinae is a large subfamily of skinks, lizards within the family Scincidae. The genera in this subfamily were previously found to belong to the ''Sphenomorphus'' group in the large subfamily Lygosominae. Genera The subfamily Sphenomo ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scincidae. The genus is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Eulamprus'' belongs to a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

in the ''

Sphenomorphus The genus ''Sphenomorphus'' – vernacularly also known as the common skinks – currently serves as a "wastebin taxon" for numerous skinks. While most or all species presently placed here are probably rather close relatives, the genus ...

'' group that contains other

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

such as '' Ctenotus'' and '' Anomalopus''. The molecular phylogenetic studies of O'Connor and Moritz (2003) and Skinner et al. (2013) found that species assigned to ''Eulamprus'' comprised four independent lineages within the Australian ''Sphenomorphus'' group and did not form a clade. The genus ''Eulamprus'' was restricted to the water skinks, with other species assigned to '' Concinnia'' (including species formerly in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genera '' Gnypetoscincus'' and '' Nangura''), '' Silvascincus'' and '' Tumbunascincus''.

Species

The following five species are recognized as being valid.''Eulamprus''
The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Eulamprus heatwolei'' Wells &

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, 1983 – warm-temperate water-skink, Heatwole's water skink *'' Eulamprus kosciuskoi'' (

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; ) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Known as the place where K ...

, 1932) – alpine meadow-skink, alpine water skink *'' Eulamprus leuraensis'' Wells & Wellington, 1983 – Blue Mountains water skink, Blue Mountain swamp-skink *'' Eulamprus quoyii'' ( A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839) – golden water skink, eastern water-skink, eastern water skink *'' Eulamprus tympanum'' ( Lönnberg & Andersson, 1915) – southern water skink, cool-temperate water-skink, highland water skink, Dreeite water skink ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Eulamprus''.

Species formerly placed in ''Eulamprus''

*'' Concinnia ampla'' ( Covacevich & McDonald, 1980) – lemon-barred forest-skink *'' Concinnia brachyosoma'' (Lönnberg & Andersson, 1915) – northern barsided skink *'' Concinnia frerei'' ( Greer, 1992) – stout barsided skink *'' Concinnia martini'' Wells & Wellington, 1983 – dark barsided skink *'' Concinnia sokosoma'' (Greer, 1992) – stout barsided skink *'' Concinnia tenuis'' (

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, 1831) bar-sided forest-skink, barred-sided skink *'' Concinnia tigrina'' ( De Vis, 1888) – yellow-blotched forest-skink, rainforest water-skink *'' Silvascincus murrayi'' ( Boulenger, 1887) – blue-speckled forest-skink *'' Silvascincus tryoni'' (

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

, 1918) – Border Ranges blue-spectacled skink, forest skink, Tryon's skink *'' Tumbunascincus luteilateralis'' (Covacevich & McDonald, 1980) – orange-speckled forest-skink

Taxonomy

Species

Species formerly placed in ''Eulamprus''

References

Further reading