| Menetia greyii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Menetia |
| Species: | M. greyii |
| Binomial name | |
| Menetia greyii Gray, 1845 | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Menetia greyii, commonly known as the common dwarf skink or Grey's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to mainland Australia and Indonesia.
The specific name, greyii, is in honour of explorer George Grey, who became Governor of South Australia and later Governor of New Zealand. [3] George Grey was born 14 April 1812 in Lisbon, Portugal. Inspired by Charles Sturt's discoveries in Australia, in 1836 Grey left to attempt to establish a settlement in Australia's north-west. He was knighted in 1848. After many accomplishments in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Grey returned to London in 1894 and died in 1898. [4]
One of Australia's most widespread and abundant lizards, [5] the common dwarf skink is found across Australia. It is found west of the Great Dividing Range. It is not recorded to occur in north-east Northern Territory, Cape York Peninsula, southern Victoria or Tasmania, but it is known to occur in all other areas of Australia. [6] The range of the common dwarf skink spans across approximately 93% of the continent. [7] A continuous occurrence record map can be found online at "Atlas of Living Australia" through this reference link. [8]
M. greyii is widespread and found in many different habitats. It is found in heaths, deserts, woodlands and grasslands. [6] It is also frequently found in urban environments, and is therefore fairly well known. [5] This skink is known to shelter underneath logs and rocks. It is often found moving through leaf litter on the ground while searching for its main food source of invertebrates. [6] It is widespread on a variety of soil types. [9]
M. greyii is a very small skink that grows up to 38–40 mm (1.5–1.6 in) in snout-to-vent length (SVL). The body is of light build and elongated. [6] It has smooth scales and four limbs. The forelimbs have four digits and the hindlimbs have five digits. [10] It is brownish grey to grey and has dorsal dashes that can form broken lines and broad dark upper lateral and white midlateral stripes. [9] The underbelly of the skink is usually white. [6] Breeding males can be distinguished as they have a yellow/orange flush on the underbelly as well as a pink flush on the throat. [9] Some populations can differ slightly in colour because of the different environments they inhabit. [5] The common dwarf skink has two supraciliary scales, the first is quite small and the second is contacting the supraocular scale. [9] It has 3 scales in a line between the eye and the nostril. [9]
The common dwarf skink is fossorial, meaning it is a burrowing skink. This species is diurnal. [6]
Prey for the common dwarf skink includes small insects such as ants and termites, and also small spiders. [1]
Predators of the common dwarf skink include, but are not limited to, larger reptiles, avian species and cats.[ citation needed ]
The adult female common dwarf skink may lay 1-3 eggs in every clutch. [6]
M. greyii is one of a small number of vertebrate species that are known to reproduce by parthenogenesis. [11] A 2007 study discovered that M. greyii is able to reproduce by parthenogenesis as well as by sexual reproduction.[ citation needed ] Mitochondrial DNA revealed that parthenogenesis is able to occur in this species.[ citation needed ] Parthenogenesis is when eggs can mature without being fertilised into clones of the female.[ citation needed ] This process can occur in some non-mammal species.[ citation needed ]
Menetia is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The member species of the genus Menetia are endemic to Australia. They are ground-dwellers and live in open forests and open grasslands.
The western skink is a species of small, smooth-scaled lizard with relatively small limbs. It measures about 100 to 210 mm in total length. It is one of seven species of lizards in Canada. They spend much of their day basking in the sun. Their diet ranges widely, including spiders and beetles. Western skinks will bite if grasped and will flee if they feel threatened. It is a common but secretive species whose range extends from southern British Columbia and throughout Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming and into western Montana and northern Arizona and Missouri. They can also live in some areas of Texas It is widespread in northern California but primarily restricted to the coast in central and southern California. Found in a variety of habitats, this lizard is most common in early successional stages or open areas of late successional stages. Heavy brush and densely forested areas are generally avoided. Western skinks are found from sea level to at least 2,130 m (7,000 ft). This diurnal reptile is active during the warm seasons.
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.
The common garden skink is a small species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Additional common names for L. guichenoti include grass skink, Guichenot's grass skink, pale-flecked garden sunskink, and penny lizard.
Leiolopisma telfairii, also known commonly as the Round Island ground skink, the Round Island skink, and Telfair's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Round Island, one of the islands of Mauritius.
The spiny-tailed monitor, also known as the Australian spiny-tailed monitor, the ridge-tailed monitor the Ackie dwarf monitor, and colloquially simply ackie monitor, is an Australian species of lizard belonging to the genus of monitor lizards (Varanus).
Lepidodactylus listeri, also known commonly as Lister's gecko or the Christmas Island chained gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae, endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. It is currently extinct in the wild.
The great desert skink, also known as Kintore's egernia and by various names including tjakura in various Aboriginal Australian languages, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the western half of Australia. It is a burrowing lizard and extremely social.
White's skink, also known commonly as White's rock skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Burton's legless lizard is a species of lizard in the family Pygopodidae. The species lacks forelegs and has only rudimentary hind legs. Pygopodid lizards are also referred to as "legless lizards", "flap-footed lizards" and "snake-lizards". This species is native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Heteronotia binoei, known commonly as Bynoe's gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae, and is endemic to Australia. One of the continent’s least-habitat-specific geckos, it occurs naturally across much of the country, and has also established in areas where it does not occur normally, such as urban Perth, Western Australia. It is dark brown to reddish-brown, depending on the colour of the ground upon which it lives, as well as irregular light bands with dark edges along its back.
The yellow-faced whip snake is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae, a family containing many dangerous snakes. D. psammophis is endemic to Australia, found throughout the continent in a variety of habitats from coastal fringes to interior arid scrubland.
Morethia boulengeri is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Tropidophorus grayi, commonly called the spiny waterside skink, Gray's keeled skink, Gray's water skink, and the Philippine spiny stream skink is a relatively abundant but secretive skink species, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.
Eulamprus quoyii, more commonly known as the eastern water skink, eastern water-skink, or golden water skink, is a viviparous species of diurnal skink. Eulamprus quoyii belongs to the family Scincidae and is considered a common garden animal in Australia. The skink is endemic to Australia and found only along the east coast of the country. It makes its home in creekside habitats along the east coast of Australia and in urban garden areas with high amounts of moisture. The species can be identified by the twin, long yellow stripes that run along its body from the top of the eye, as well as by several more specific character derived states. The pale yellow dorsolateral stripes are most likely where its common name, the golden water skink, is derived. Like other ectotherms, the skink can often be seen basking in the sun on rocky outcroppings in order to regulate its body temperature. Its diet mainly consists of both aquatic and terrestrial insects, tadpoles and small amounts of plant matter. The skink both hunts for food and scavenges when necessary and is considered an opportunistic feeder. It is prey to larger lizards, snakes, cats and birds and so will often be seen moving quickly into hiding when other organisms are present.
Tiliqua scincoides is a species of skink. It is native to Australia as well Tanimbar Island.
The excitable delma is a species of lizard in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. The lizard gets its name from its active and jumpy defense mechanism. It will erratically jump multiple times in succession, each jump pivoting its body in a different direction. D. tincta is a slender, long legless lizard that through evolution lost its limbs. It is found throughout Australia in a variety of habitats, and spends most of its time hiding. Due to its nocturnal nature, it is rare to spot in the wild. This legless lizard is small to moderate in size, with a tail that is three to four times its body length. The typical size of the excitable delma is 250 – 300 mm. This lizard is an insectivore and feeds on insects it finds when travelling through grass, logs, surface soil, and loose rocks. Like all pygopodids, the excitable delma is oviparous and only lays two eggs per clutch.
Menetia alanae, also known commonly as Alana's menetia and the Top End dwarf skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Ctenotus leonhardii, known by the common names Leonhardi's ctenotus, Leonhardi's skink or common desert ctenotus, is a species of skink found in a range of arid and semi-arid regions throughout mainland Australia. The species was named after German anthropologist Moritz von Leonhardi in 1919 and belongs to the genus Ctenotus, one of the largest genera of lizards in Australia.
Lerista timida, the dwarf three-toed slider or wood mulch-slider, is a species of skink found in Australia. Other common names for the species include timid slider and dwarf burrowing skink. The skink is a member of the Lerista genus which are confined to continental Australia and are mostly a burrowing species of skink. The genus consists of consists elongated, smooth-scaled, Fossorial lizards that are specialized for life in the upper soils and dry leaf litter through which they slide using Lateral undulation as a form of locomotive action, giving rise to their nickname as sliders. They normally emerge of a night-time to hunt for small Invertebrates such as ants, termites and insects. If disturbed, they dive immediately into any loose substrate to avoid predation, this behavior leaves behind a distinctive disrupted wavy track that often found on sandy flats or dunes, roads and tracks.
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