Brachymeles

Brachymeles is a genus of skinks (lizards in the family Scincidae). The majority of the species within the genus are endemic to certain island ecosystems in the Philippines. In 2018, the Zoological Society of London through its EDGE of Existence Program listed the Cebu small worm skink (Brachymeles cebuensis) as the 80th most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered reptile species in the world, making it the most endangered member of the genus Brachymeles.

==Taxonomy== Brachymeles is usually placed in the subfamily Scincinae, which seems to be paraphyletic however. Apparently part of a clade which does not seem to include the type genus Scincus, it will probably be eventually assigned to a new, yet-to-be-named subfamily (Austin & Arnold 2006).