Blue-tongued skink

Blue-tongued skinks<ref>Tiliqua, Reptile Database</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Their tongue can also deform itself and produce a thick mucus in order to catch prey.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They are relatively shy in comparison with other lizards, and also significantly slower due to their shorter legs.

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.<ref>Cogger, H.G. (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed New Holland.</ref> The pygmy blue-tongue is again the exception, being primarily an ambush predator of terrestrial arthropods.<ref>Department for Environment and Heritage > Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard - fact sheet, Environment.sa.gov.au, retrieved 18 July 2017</ref>

All are ovoviviparous, with litter sizes ranging from 1-4 in the pygmy blue-tongue and shingleback to 5-24 in the eastern and northern blue-tongues.<ref>Turner, G. 2001. Keeping Bluetongue Lizards. Australian Reptile Keeper Publications.</ref>

Species

Name	Scientific Name	Picture	Subspecies
Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink	T. adelaidensis (Peters, 1863)	File:Tiliqua adelaidensis (Peters, 1863) 3069938647.jpg
No common name	†T. frangens<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	File:Tiliqua frangens (cropped).png
Indonesian blue-tongued skink	T. gigas (Schneider, 1801)	Riesenblauzungenskink	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)	Zentralaustralischer Blauzungenskink
Blotched blue-tongued skink	T. nigrolutea (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)	Schwarzgelber Blauzungenskink
Western blue-tongued skink	T. occipitalis (Peters, 1863)	Westlicher Blauzungenskink
Shingleback, bobtail	T. rugosa (Gray, 1825)	File:Shingleback-sa.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)	Gemeiner Blauzungenskink	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.	File:Irianjayansinikieliskinkki (cropped).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.<ref name=Tfrangens>Template:Cite journal Supplementary Information</ref><ref name="2023-06-14_NS">Extinct lizard was a bizarrely supersized version of modern skinks, Alice Klein, New Scientist, 2023-06-14</ref><ref name="2023-06-14_Conversation">Meet the biggest and most bizarre skink ever found in Australia. It became extinct 47,000 years ago, 2023-06-14</ref>

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.<ref name=Tfrangens/>

In captivity

Some species of this genus are kept as household pets. They are on average very friendly when raised in captivity, and are often called 'the dogs of reptiles'. Captive specimens can live 20 years or longer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

References

• Template:Aut (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. {{#invoke:doi|main}} (HTML abstract)
• Template:Aut (1988). Mate fidelity in an Australian lizard Trachydosaurus rugosus (Scincidae). Copeia 1987(3): 749-757.
• Template:Aut (1990). Comparison of displaced and retained partners in a monogamous lizard Tiliqua rugosa. Australian Wildlife Research 17: 135-140.
• Template:Aut (1996). A prey record of the Eastern Blue-tongue Tiliqua scincoides for the common brown snake Pseudonaja textilis. Monitor 8(3): 155.

External links

• Bluetongue fact file
• Blue-tongued Lizards in New South Wales