Gnypetoscincus is a monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of skink

Skink

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...

s (family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Scincidae). It contains a single species, the Prickly Skink, (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae).

These skinks have rough, keeled scales

Scale (zoology)

In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...

, unlike the skin of most small skinks which tends to be smooth. They are found only in tropical north Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

.

It belongs to a clade

Clade

A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

 in the Sphenomorphus

Sphenomorphus

The genus Sphenomorphus – vernacularly known as the common skinks – currently serves as a "wastebin taxon" for a large number of skinks...

group which contains such genera as Ctenotus

Ctenotus

Ctenotus is a genus of skinks . It belongs to a clade in the Sphenomorphus group which contains such genera as Anomalopus and the close relatives Eulamprus and Gnypetoscincus....

and Anomalopus

Anomalopus

Anomalopus is the genus of worm-skinks, smallish smooth-scaled burrowing skinks from the eastern half of Australia...

. Even closer to the Prickly Skink seems the genus Eulamprus

Eulamprus

Eulamprus, the water skinks, are a genus of skinks in the subfamily Lygosominae. It belongs to a clade in the Sphenomorphus group that contains such genera as Ctenotus and Anomalopus...

.(Austin & Arnold 2006)