King's skink
| King's skink | |
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| Albany, Western Australia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Egernia |
| Species: | E. kingii
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| Binomial name | |
| Egernia kingii (Gray, 1838)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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King's skink (Egernia kingii) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
King's skink is prey for many animals including tiger snakes (Notechis spp.).[6]
History[edit]
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[edit]
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.
References[edit]
- ^ 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.
- ^ Egernia kingii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 January 2020.
- ^ 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).
- ^ a b "Waratah Software Natural Images of Australia". 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "ABC - The Nauralists - Ferdinand Bauer". 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
Further reading[edit]
- 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).