The spotted skink (''Carinascincus ocellatus''), sometimes called the ocellated cool-skink or ocellated skink, is a

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a ground-dwelling,

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...

species, usually found in rocky habitats, and widespread in the northern and eastern parts of the state, as well as in the eastern

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

islands. It is often found at Arthurs Lake in the Central Highlands of Tasmania.Cogger, H.G. (1979). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia''. Reed: Sydney. Spotted skink populations are distributed along an altitudinal gradient, with variations in thermal conditions along the gradient affecting body temperature regulation and reproductive activity. Skinks in low to mid altitudes achieve their optimal body temperature year-round and predominantly undergo vitellogenesis and ovulation in spring and gestation in summer, while skinks occupying higher, subalpine altitudes struggle to maintain their preferred temperature in the autumn months, and typically undergo ovulation and parturition one month later than other members of the species.

References

Reptiles of Tasmania Reptiles described in 1845 Carinascincus Skinks of Australia Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{skink-stub