Leiolopisma is a 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. Most species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 occur in the region of New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

-New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, and they are related to other genera from that general area, such as Emoia

Emoia

Emoia is a genus of skinks in the subfamily Lygosominae. It belongs to a group of genera mainly from the SW Pacific-Australian region, such as Leiolopisma; these and others form the Eugongylus group....

; these and others form the Eugongylus

Eugongylus

Eugongylus is a genus of skinks in the subfamily Lygosominae. The namesake of the Eugonglyus group of genera, it occupies a quite basal position among these...

group. One living and two extinct taxa represent 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...

 endemic to the Mascarenes.(Austin & Arnold 2006)

Species

• Leiolopisma alazon
• Leiolopisma bardensis
• Leiolopisma ceciliae Arnold & Bour, 2008 - extinct
• Leiolopisma eulepis
• Leiolopisma fallai
• Leiolopisma fasciolare
• Leiolopisma fuscum
• Leiolopisma grande

• Leiolopisma lioscincus
• Leiolopisma mauritiana
  Leiolopisma mauritiana
  Leiolopisma mauritiana also known as "Didosaurus maurtianus," was a large species of skink . It was found only in Mauritius, but became extinct around 1600 probably due to introduced predators. It may have been somewhat fossorial in nature. This is speculative and based on a reconstruction...
  
  - extinct (c.1600)
• Leiolopisma paronae
• Leiolopisma telfairii
• Leiolopisma zelandia

An undescribed extinct taxon from Réunion

Réunion

Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

was close to L. mauritiana (Austin & Arnold 2006). These two were formerly separated in Didosaurus. David Day (1979), in Vanished Species, described the Reunion skink as small and fast moving but completely unafraid of humans. Individuals would climb on observer's legs. Efforts to maintain the species in captivity proved futile. The Reunion skink was reported to be completely insectivorous.