Blue-tongued skink

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Blue-tongued skinks
Tiliqua scincoides scincoides.jpg
Blotched blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua nigrolutea)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Egerniinae
Genus: Tiliqua
Gray, 1825 [1]
Species

8 extant, see text.

Synonyms

Trachydosaurus

Blue-tongued skinks [2] comprise the Australasian genus Tiliqua, which contains some of the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). They are commonly called blue-tongued lizards or simply blue-tongues or blueys in Australia or panana in Indonesia. As suggested by these common names, a prominent characteristic of the genus is a large blue tongue that can be bared as bluff-warning to potential enemies. [3] The type of predator/threat that is near will determine the intensity of colour present in the tongue. The tongue can also deform itself and produce a thick mucus in order to catch prey. [4] They are relatively shy in comparison with other lizards, and also significantly slower due to their shorter legs.

Contents

Systematics and distribution

Blue-tongued skinks are closely related to the genera Cyclodomorphus and Hemisphaeriodon . All species are found on mainland Australia with the exception of Tiliqua gigas, which occurs in New Guinea and various islands of Indonesia. The Tanimbar blue-tongued skink, a subspecies of Tiliqua scincoides, is also found on several small Indonesian islands between Australia and New Guinea. Tiliqua nigrolutea, the Blotched blue-tongued skink, is the only species present in Tasmania.

Ecology

Most species are diurnal, ground-foraging omnivores, feeding on a wide variety of insects, gastropods, flowers, fruits, and berries. [5] The pygmy blue-tongue is again the exception, being primarily an ambush predator of terrestrial arthropods. [6] All are viviparous, with litter sizes ranging from 1-4 in the pygmy blue-tongue and shingleback to 5-24 in the eastern and northern blue-tongues. [7]

Species

NameScientific NamePictureSubspecies
Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink T. adelaidensis(Peters, 1863) Tiliqua adelaidensis (Peters, 1863) 3069938647.jpg
No common name T. frangens [8]
Indonesian blue-tongued skink T. gigas(Schneider, 1801) Tiliqua gigas Giant blue-tounged skink LoroParque IMG 6870.JPG T. g. gigas, Giant blue-tongued skink; T. g. evanescens, Merauke blue-tongued skink; T. g. keyensis, Key Island blue-tongued skink
Centralian blue-tongued skink T. multifasciata(Sternfeld, 1919) Tiliqua multifasciata.jpg
Blotched blue-tongued skink T. nigrolutea(Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) Blotched Blue Tongue (Tiliqua nigrolutea) (8485228336).jpg
Western blue-tongued skink T. occipitalis(Peters, 1863) Tiliqua occipitalis.jpg
Shingleback, bobtail T. rugosa(Gray, 1825) Shingleback Skink at Sydney Wildlife World.jpg T. r. aspera, Eastern shingleback; T. r. konowi, Rottnest Island bobtail; T. r. palarra, Shark Bay bobtail; T. r. rugosa, Common shingleback, bobtail
Common blue-tongued skink T. scincoides(White, 1790) Eastern blue tongued lizard.jpg T. s. chimaerea, Tanimbar blue-tongued skink; T. s. intermedia, Northern blue-tongued skink; T. s. scincoides, Eastern blue-tongued skink
Irian Jaya blue-tongued skink Tiliqua sp. Irianjayansinikieliskinkki.jpeg

Extinct species

Multiple extinct species have been proposed. T. frangens , the largest known species of the genus, lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epoch around the Wellington Caves of New South Wales in Australia. Another extinct species T. laticephala may represent the same taxon as T. frangens. Its nearest relative is the extant T. rugosa , which is half the size and lacks the bony plates of T. frangens. [9] [10] [11]

Another extinct species T. wilkinsonorum also lived during the Pliocene epoch. The earliest possible species is T. pusilla from the middle Miocene, but researchers question whether this species belong to the genus Tiliqua due to its uncertain phylogenetic position that causes paraphyly. [9]

In captivity

Blue-tongues skink species are generally docile, gentle, quiet and easily tamed, and can make a good reptile pet for beginners. Although they are not aggressive, they have strong jaws and teeth, meaning that a bite from a skink can be painful. It is advisable not to startle or provoke them, as they may bite if they feel threatened. [12] Specimens can live up to 20 years or more. [13]

Notes

  1. Gray, J.E. (1825). A synopsis of the genera of reptiles and Amphibia, with a description of some new species. Annals of Philosophy 10:193—217. p. 201
  2. Tiliqua, Reptile Database
  3. Abramjan, Andran (2015). "Why is the tongue of blue-tongued skinks blue? reflectance of lingual surface and its consequences for visual perception by conspecifics and Predators". The Science of Nature. 102 (7–8): 42. Bibcode:2015SciNa.102...42A. doi:10.1007/s00114-015-1293-4. PMID   26185113. S2CID   16915899.
  4. Tamara L. Smith; Kenneth V. Kardong; Vincent L. Bels (1999). "Prey Capture Behavior in the Blue-tongued Skink, Tiliqua scincoides" (PDF). Journal of Herpetology. 33 (3): 362–369. doi:10.2307/1565632. JSTOR   1565632 . Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. Cogger, H.G. (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed New Holland.
  6. Department for Environment and Heritage > Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard - fact sheet, Environment.sa.gov.au, retrieved 18 July 2017
  7. Turner, G. 2001. Keeping Bluetongue Lizards. Australian Reptile Keeper Publications.
  8. Thorn, Kailah M.; Fusco, Diana A.; Hutchinson, Mark N.; Gardner, Michael G.; Clayton, Jessica L.; Prideaux, Gavin J.; Lee, Michael S. Y. (2023-06-14). "A giant armoured skink from Australia expands lizard morphospace and the scope of the Pleistocene extinctions". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290 (2000). doi:10.1098/rspb.2023.0704. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC  10265006. PMID   37312544.
  9. 1 2 Thorn, K.M.; Fusco, D.A.; Hutchinson, M.N.; Gardner, M.G.; Clayton, J.L.; Prideaux, G.J.; Lee, M.S.Y. (2023). "A giant armoured skink from Australia expands lizard morphospace and the scope of the Pleistocene extinctions". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 290 (2000). 20230704. doi:10.1098/rspb.2023.0704. ISSN   1471-2954. PMC  10265006. PMID   37312544. S2CID   259149033. Supplementary Information
  10. Extinct lizard was a bizarrely supersized version of modern skinks, Alice Klein, New Scientist, 2023-06-14
  11. Meet the biggest and most bizarre skink ever found in Australia. It became extinct 47,000 years ago, 2023-06-14
  12. "Feeding and Care of Your Blue-Tongued Skink". Thesprucepets.com. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  13. "Blue-Tongued Skink - Tiliqua". Petmd.com. Retrieved 24 May 2022.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skink</span> Family of reptiles

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions.

<i>Cryptoblepharus</i> Genus of lizards

Cryptoblepharus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus contains at least 53 species.

<i>Egernia</i> Genus of lizards

Egernia is a genus of skinks that occurs in Australia. These skinks are ecologically diverse omnivores that inhabit a wide range of habitats. However, in the loose delimitation the genus is not monophyletic but an evolutionary grade, as has long been suspected due to its lack of characteristic apomorphies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink-tongued skink</span> Species of lizard

The pink-tongued skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Australia, where it is also called commonly the pink-tongued lizard. As suggested by these common names, its distinguishing characteristic is a pink tongue as opposed to the blue tongue of lizards of the closely related genus Tiliqua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blotched blue-tongued lizard</span> Species of lizard


The blotched blue-tongued lizard, also known as the southern blue-tongued lizard or blotched blue-tongued skink is a blue-tongued skink endemic to south-eastern Australia.

<i>Tiliqua rugosa</i> Species of lizard

Tiliqua rugosa, most commonly known as the shingleback skink or bobtail lizard, is a short-tailed, slow-moving species of blue-tongued skink endemic to Australia. It is commonly known as the shingleback or sleepy lizard. Three of its four recognised subspecies are found in Western Australia, where the bobtail name is most frequently used. The fourth subspecies, T. rugosa asper, is the only one native to eastern Australia, where it goes by the common name of the eastern shingleback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern blue-tongued lizard</span> Species of reptile native to Australia

The Tiliqua scincoides scincoides, or eastern blue-tongued lizard, is native to Australia. Its blue tongue can be used to warn off predators. In addition to flashing its blue tongue, the skink hisses and puffs up its chest to assert dominance and appear bigger when in the presence of its predators such as large snakes and birds. The eastern blue tongue is ovoviviparous and precocial, meaning that its young are more developed and advanced at their time of birth. The Tiliqua scincoides scincoides is not venomous to humans and can be found in suburban and urban areas, specifically in house gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink</span> Species of lizard

Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink, also known commonly as Cunningham's skink, is a species of large skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southeastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western blue-tongued lizard</span> Species of lizard

The western blue-tongued lizard, also known as the western blue-tongued skink, is a large skink native to Australia. It is one of six species of blue-tongued skinks found in Australia, though further species are found in New Guinea and Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern blue-tongued skink</span> Subspecies of lizard

The northern blue-tongued skink or northern blue-tongued lizard is the largest and heaviest of the blue-tongued lizards. They are native to Australia and found almost exclusively in the Northern Region. They generally live around 20 years and are commonly kept as pets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's skink</span> Species of lizard

King's skink is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink</span> Species of lizard

The Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink or pygmy bluetongue is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species was previously thought to be extinct and only rediscovered in 1992. Known locations of the species extend from Kapunda in the Light River valley, about 77 kilometres (48 mi) north east of Adelaide, northwards to Peterborough, about 254 kilometres (158 mi) north of Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern three-lined skink</span> Species of lizard

The eastern three-lined skink, also known commonly as the bold-striped cool-skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. A. duperreyi has been extensively studied in the context of understanding the evolution of learning, viviparity in lizards, and temperature- and genetic-sex determination. A. duperreyi is classified as a species of "Least Concern" by the IUCN.

<i>Tiliqua frangens</i> Extinct species of lizards

Tiliqua frangens is an extinct species of the extant genus Tiliqua, blue-tongued skinks. It lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epoch from New South Wales in Australia.

<i>Tiliqua gigas</i> Species of lizard

The Indonesian blue-tongued skink is a lizard in the family Scincidae. It is a close relative of the eastern blue-tongued lizard. They are endemic to the island of New Guinea and other various surrounding islands. They are found typically in the rainforest, and in captivity, require high humidity. In comparison to Tiliqua scincoides, they are fairly lean. They also have long tails.

<i>Tiliqua scincoides</i> Species of lizard

Tiliqua scincoides is a species of skink. It is native to Australia as well Tanimbar Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centralian blue-tongued skink</span> Species of lizard

The Centralian blue-tongued skink or Centralian blue-tongue is a species of skink, occurring predominantly in the far north-west corner of New South Wales, Australia. It is one of six species belonging to the genus Tiliqua; the blue-tongued skinks and the shinglebacks.

The saltbush slender bluetongue is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the arid interior of eastern Australia. Although its conservation status is of least concern, it has been listed as endangered in New South Wales. The slender saltbush bluetongue has been recorded in Sturt National Park in New South Wales but extends into northeast South Australia and south-west Queensland.

The Spinifex slender blue-tongue or Samphire slender bluetongue is an endemic species of skink that inhabits the arid areas of central Australia. The Spinifex slender blue-tongue is closely related to the large blue-tongue skinks. However is individually categorised under the Genus Cyclodomorphus and species Cyclodomorphus melanops(C. melanops).

References