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| EASTERN
BLUE-TONGUED SKINK |
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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Eastern blue-tongued skink, blue-tongued lizard |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Reptilia |
| ORDER: |
Squamata |
| FAMILY: |
Scincidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Tiliqua (meaning unknown) scincoides
(shaped lizard) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
This is the largest member of the skink family.
Its body is long and tubular, with short legs and
a short tail. The head is triangular and broad.
This skink is very well known for its long, bright
blue tongue. |
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| SIZE: |
Total length of approximately 60 cm (24 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
283-510 g (10-18 oz.) |
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| DIET: |
Blue-tongued skinks are omnivores, meaning they
feed on a variety of plants and animals. Their diet
includes insects, worms, snails, flowers, fruits,
and berries. |
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| INCUBATION: |
100 days; generally give birth in mid-summer
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| Females
are ovoviviparous ("egg-live birth") -
the mother produces egg cases, which she then carries
inside her. After the eggs hatch internally, she
expels the live young. |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
6-12
live young |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
18-24 months |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
May
be in excess of 20 years |
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| RANGE: |
Native
to Australia and New Guinea |
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| HABITAT: |
Include
grasslands, forests, rainforests, and deserts |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not listed |
| CITES |
Not listed |
| USFWS |
Not listed |
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| 1. |
Blue-tongued skinks spend the majority of their
day searching the ground for food and basking in
the sun. At night they seek shelter in logs, leaf
litter, or other ground debris. |
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| 2. |
When threatened, the blue-tongued skink puffs
up its body, sticks out its long, blue tongue,
and hisses. If the intended target is unimpressed,
the wide-bodied skink hisses, and then flattens
out its body in hopes of appearing too large to
attack.
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| 3. |
Blue-tongues do not have well-developed teeth, but
are capable of a powerful bite. They also have a
habit of not letting go, contributing considerably
to the pain. |
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| 4. |
The skink's overlapping scales help keep out dirt,
sand, and other debris. Healthy adults usually
shed every six weeks. Shedding takes a considerable
amount of energy, greatly reducing regular food
metabolism.
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| 5. |
An
important feature of most lizards is their ability
to cast off their tail in defense and to later regenerate
a new one. The cast-off part continues to move for
several minutes, giving the lizard time to escape. |
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Blue-tongued skinks are common in the pet trade
and are sometimes released into wild, non-indigenous
areas when their owners tire of them. This has
led to some competition for the native wildlife.
In
their native region, they are very common, however
they are often killed because of a superficial
resemblance to the death adder, a very poisonous
snake. In long grass, the blue-tongued skink's
head is not readily discernable from the adder.
Skinks
serve as predators for invertebrates, helping
to maintain insect populations. They are also
prey for other animals.
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Brun, John F. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and
Amphibians. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications,
1974.
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Coborn, John. Snakes and Lizards: Their Care
and Breeding in Captivity. Sanibel Island: R.
Curtis Books, 1987. |
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Mattison, Chris. Lizards of the World.
New York: Facts on File Publications, Inc., 1989.
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| Rogner,
Manfred. Lizards. Vol. 2. Malabar, Florida:
Krieger Publishing Co., 1994. |
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| Wynne,
Richard H. Lizards in Captivity. New Jersey:
T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1981. |
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| http://www.discovery.com/exp/lizards/low_bluetongue.html |
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