Brown Forest Skink

Scincella cherriei

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassSquamata
FamilyScincidae (Skinks)
GenusScincella (Ground Skinks)
SpeciesScincella cherriei (Brown Forest Skink)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tikal National Park

1 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026

112 Verified sightings across all 22 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Brown Forest Skink

Scincella cherriei, commonly known as the brown forest skink and Cope's brown forest skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Central America and adjacent southeastern Mexico. Three subspecies are recognized.

The specific name, cherriei, is in honor of George Kruck Cherrie, who was an American naturalist and ornithologist. The subspecific name, stuarti, is in honor of American herpetologist Laurence Cooper Stuart. S. cherriei is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (Puebla, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatán), and Nicaragua.

The preferred natural habitat of S. cherriei is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,860 m (6,100 ft). S. cherriei preys upon small invertebrates. S. cherriei is oviparous. The following three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Scincella cherriei cherriei (Cope, 1893) Scincella cherriei ixbaac (L. Stuart, 1940) Scincella cherriei stuarti (H.M. Smith, 1941) Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Mesoscincus schwartzei

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
2	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
3	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
4	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
5	Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	~10%
6	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
7	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
8	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
9	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
10	Cusuco National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
11	Pico Bonito National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
12	Celaque National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
13	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	Insufficient data
14	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
15	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
16	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
17	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
18	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
19	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
20	Chirripó National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
21	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
22	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data

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