King's skink

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King's skink
Egernia kingii 2.jpg
Albany, Western Australia

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Egernia
Species:
E. kingii
Binomial name
Egernia kingii
(Gray, 1838)
Egernia kingii distribution.png
Synonyms[2]
  • Tiliqua kingii
    Gray, 1838
  • Egernia kingii
    — Glauert, 1960

King's skink (Egernia kingii) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Etymology[]

The specific name, kingii, is in honor of Australian Phillip Parker King, who explored the coast of Australia while he was an officer in the Royal Navy.[3]

Geographic range[]

King's skink is native to coastal regions of south-western Australia.[4] It is common on Rottnest Island and Penguin Island and some coastal areas with open forest and open heath.

Description[]

King's skink is a large, heavy-bodied black skink that can reach a total length (including tail) of 55 centimetres (22 in)[4] with a mass of 220 grams (8 oz).

Diet[]

King's skink is omnivorous and consumes mostly softer plant matter from the range of local vegetation, but supplements its diet with insects and birds' eggs.[5]

As prey[]

King's skink is prey for many animals including tiger snakes (Notechis spp.).[6]

History[]

A traditional name for King's skink is wandy, given by the Nyungar people of south-west Western Australia.[7] The first European to draw a King's skink was the artist and naturalist Ferdinand Bauer who made a detailed drawing of one during Flinders' expedition in 1801.[8]

Reproduction[]

Like many skinks, King's skink is viviparous, and after a gestation period of 20–22 weeks,[5] gives birth to litters of 2–8 young that have a typical mass of 7 grams (0.25 oz). Juvenile mortality is high and growth to adult size is slow, so mature King's skinks can be quite long lived.

King's skink near Albany, Western Australia

References[]

  1. ^ Maryan, B.; Shea, G.; Valentine, L.; Ford, S.; Gaikhorst, G.; Craig, M. (2017). "Egernia kingii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T178540A101749086. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T178540A101749086.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Egernia kingii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 January 2020.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Egernia kingii, p. 141).
  4. ^ a b "Waratah Software Natural Images of Australia". 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  5. ^ a b Arena, P. C. & Wooller, R. D. (2008). "The reproduction and diet of Egernia kingii (Reptilia : Scincidae) on Penguin Island, Western Australia". Australian Journal of Zoology. 51 (5): 495–504. doi:10.1071/zo02040.
  6. ^ Bradshaw, Don; Fabien, Aubret; Maumelat, Stéphanie; Schwaner, Terry & Bonnet, Xavier (2004). "Diet divergence, jaw size and scale counts in two neighbouring populations of tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus)". Amphibia-Reptilia. 25 (1): 9–17. doi:10.1163/156853804322992797.
  7. ^ "Vocabulary collected by Isaac Scott Nind 1826-1829 at King George's Sound". 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  8. ^ "ABC - The Nauralists - Ferdinand Bauer". 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-05-03.

Further reading[]

  • Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Egernia kingii, pp. 138–139).
  • Glauert L (1960). "Herpetological miscellanea. XII. The family Scincidae in Western Australia. Part 1. The genera Tiliqua, Trachysaurus and Egernia ". Western Australian Naturalist 7 (3): 67-77.
  • Gray JE (1838). "Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descriptions of many new Genera and Species". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., First Series 2: 287-293. (Tiliqua kingii, new species, p. 290).

External links[]

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