| Blue-tongued skinks | |
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| Blotched Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua nigrolutea) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia (paraphyletic) |
| Order: | Squamata (paraphyletic) |
| Infraorder: | Scincomorpha |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Subfamily: | Lygosominae |
| Genus: | Tiliqua (Gray, 1825) |
| Species | |
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7, see text. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Trachydosaurus |
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Blue-tongued skinks 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 in Australia. As suggested by these common names, a prominent characteristic of the genus is a large blue tongue that can be bared as a bluff-warning to potential enemies.
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Contents
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Systematics
Cyclodomorphus and Hemisphaeriodon. All species are found on mainland Australia with the exception of Tiliqua gigas which occurs in New Guinea and various New Guinea. Tiliqua nigrolutea is the only species present in Tasmania. With the exception of the pygmy blue-tongue, they are relatively large lizards (up to 37 cm total length), light-bodied, short-limbed, broad with a distinct head and dull teeth.
Ecology
Most species are diurnal ground-foraging omnivores, feeding on a wide variety of insects, gastropods, flowers, fruits and berries [1]. The pygmy blue-tongue is again the exception, being primarily an ambush predator of terrestrial arthropods[2] . 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 [3].
Species and subspecies
- Tiliqua adelaidensis, (Adelaide) Pygmy Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua gigas, Indonesian Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua gigas evanescens, Merakue Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua gigas keyensis, Key Island Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua multifasciata, Centralian Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua nigrolutea, Blotched Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua occipitalis, Western Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua rugosa, Shingleback (or Bobtail) Skink
- Tiliqua rugosa rugosa, Common Shingleback Skink
- Tiliqua rugosa aspera, Eastern Shingleback Skink
- Tiliqua rugosa palarra, Shark Bay Shingleback Skink
- Tiliqua rugosa konowi, Rottnest Island Shingleback Skink
- Tiliqua scincoides, Australian Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua scincoides scincoides, Eastern Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua scincoides intermedia, Northern Blue-tongued Skink
- Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea, Tanimbar Blue-tongued Skink
 Central Blue-tongued Lizard from the Tanami Desert |
 Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard in metropolitan Sydney. |
 Stump-tailed skink, Tiliqua rugosa |
Notes
- ^ Cogger, H. G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed New Holland.
- ^ http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/biodiversity/bcp/pdfs/pygmy_bluetongue_info_sheet.pdf
- ^ Turner, G. 2001. Keeping Bluetongue Lizards. Australian Reptile Keeper Publications.
References
- Austin, J.J. & Arnold, E.N. (2006): Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39(2): 503–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract)
- Bull, C.M. (1988): Mate fidelity in an Australian lizard Trachydosaurus rugosus (Scincidae). Copeia 1987(3): 749-757.
- Bull, C.M. (1990): Comparison of displaced and retained partners in a monogamous lizard Tiliqua rugosa. Australian Wildlife Research 17: 135-140.
- Valentic, R.A. (1996): A prey record of the Eastern Blue-tongue Tiliqua scincoides for the common brown snake Pseudonaja textilis. Monitor 8(3): 155.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Tiliqua |
- Bluetongue fact file
- Blue-tongued Lizards in New South Wales
- Operation Bluetongue
- Bluetongueskinks.net
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blue-tongued skink |
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