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Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe

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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaChordataReptiliaSquamataScincidaeScincella

Ground Skink
Scincella lateralis (Say, 1822)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Reptilia
Order Squamata
Family Scincidae
Genus Scincella
Species Scincella lateralis (Say, 1822)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Accidental

Distribution

Range

Known from three counties across two states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Arkansas

Counties

Alabama
Madison
Arkansas
Baxter, Sharp

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

EXEWCRENVUNTLC▲

Assessed in 2007.

NatureServe

G5 Secure

G1G2G3G4G5▲

National ranks

United States
N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Texas
S5 Secure
Florida
S4 Apparently Secure
Tennessee
S5 Secure
Maryland
S4 Apparently Secure
Oklahoma
SNR Unranked
Arkansas
S5 Secure
Kentucky
S5 Secure
Georgia
S5 Secure
Alabama
S5 Secure
North Carolina
S5 Secure
Illinois
S5 Secure
Mississippi
S5 Secure
Missouri
S5 Secure
Kansas
S5 Secure
Delaware
S1 Critically Imperiled
Louisiana
S5 Secure
Indiana
S3 Vulnerable
Virginia
S5 Secure
Ohio
S4 Apparently Secure
West Virginia
S3 Vulnerable
South Carolina
S5 Secure
New Jersey
S3 Vulnerable

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Cooper, J.E. 1975. Ecological and behavioral studies in Shelta Cave, Alabama, with emphasis on decapod crustaceans. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 364 pp.
  • McDaniel, V.R. & Gardner, J.E. 1977. Cave fauna of Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 31: 68–71. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol31/iss1/22.
  • Niemiller, M.L. & Miller, B.T. 2009. A survey of the cave-associated herpetofauna of the eastern United States with an emphasis on salamanders. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Speleology, Kerrville, Texas, USA, Volume 1: 249–256.

How to cite this account

Scincella lateralis (Say, 1822). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2912. https://cavebiology.org/species/scincella-lateralis/ (accessed 7 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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