Centralian blue-tongued skink. Near Uluru, NT. 2005
The Centralian blue-tongued skink or Centralian blue-tongue (Tiliqua multifasciata) is a species of skink,[2] occurring predominantly in the far north-west corner of New South Wales, Australia.[3] It is one of six species belonging to the genus Tiliqua; the blue-tongued skinks and the shinglebacks. This species of reptile classifies as a lizard.
The Centralian blue-tongue is of a very robust build, short body and slender tail, and is among the largest 1% of species in the family Scincidae.[4] Both the forelimb and hindlimb have five digits.[3]
Colouring
The skink is predominantly pale brown to grey in colour with a series of nine or more orange-brown bands along the length of the body and tail. These darker coloured bands are much wider than the paler grey-brown interspaces but are at their narrowest along the mid-dorsal region of the skink.[5] There is a distinguishing black stripe surrounding the eye and extending to just above the ear, and upper-hind areas of limbs are also black.[3][5][6] The skink is pale cream to white on the underside.[3][5]
Distribution
The geographical distribution of the blue-tongued skink lies throughout the far north-west corner of New South Wales and South Australia, and centrally throughout Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.[5][6] In general, habitats include a variety of arid and semi-arid stony and red sandy spinifex vegetated areas.[6]
Behaviour
Like many other reptilian species, the blue-tongued is a fairly sedentary terrestrial creature.[7] It is a ground-dwelling, diurnal species[5] and displacements are relatively short (less than 20 metres) and on average the total distance travelled each day can fall between 122 and 245 metres.[7]
Diet
Analyses of stomach contents have shown that the blue-tongue feeds on a combination of seeds, insects, livestock dung and some vertebrate and invertebrate material such as that of bird or other reptilian remains (i.e. fragments of bone, loose feathers).[4]
Reproduction
Along with the other five species of the same genus, the Centralian blue-tongued skink is a viviparous species – it bears between two and 10 live young in a single litter.[3][5][6]
Threats
The geographical location of the skink sees one of its major threats to be ingestion of the invasive and toxic cane toad,[8] but it is also under pressures from other anthropogenic processes such as fire and habitat fragmentation.[7] However, the species is still currently listed as least concern.[1]
1 2 3 4 5 Swan, Gerry (1990). A Field Guide to the Snakes and Lizards of New South Wales. Winmalee: Three Sisters Productions Pty Ltd. p.146. ISBN095902039X.
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