Eastern blue-tongued lizard
Eastern blue-tongued lizard | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Scincidae |
Genus: | Tiliqua |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | T. s. scincoides
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Trinomial name | |
Tiliqua scincoides scincoides |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Tiliqua_scincoides_%28White%2C_1790%29.jpg/220px-Tiliqua_scincoides_%28White%2C_1790%29.jpg)
The eastern blue-tongued lizard (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides) is a subspecies of large skink which is common throughout eastern Australia, often found in bushland and suburban areas where conditions are suitable. The lizard is known as blue-tongue because its tongue can range from bright to dark blue, and it has a habit of displaying it prominently and hissing loudly when disturbed.
The eastern blue-tongued lizard is a stout and slow lizard with brown to grey scales and a barred pattern across the body and tail. The underside is usually pale. Blue-tongued lizards are popular as pets and can live up to 30 years in captivity. They give birth to live young, between six and a record 20 per litter. The young consume the egg sac immediately after birth. They resemble the adult form closely. Several other types of blue-tongued lizard are in the genus Tiliqua, such as the northern blue-tongued skink and the shingleback or stump-tailed skink.
This subspecies was first described as Lacerta scincoides, by the Irish surgeon and botanist John White.
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
- BlueTongueSkinks.net
- Blue-tongued skinks, Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection
- Tiliqua scincoides , James Cook University