King's skink (''Egernia kingii'') is a
species of
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 ...
, a
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
in the
family Scincidae. The species is
endemic to
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 ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''kingii'', is in honor of Australian
Phillip Parker King, who explored the coast of Australia while he was an officer in the
Royal Navy.
Geographic range
King's skink is native to coastal regions of south-western
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 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
with a mass of .
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.
As prey
King's skink is prey for many animals including tiger snakes (''
Notechis'' spp.).
History
A traditional name for King's skink is ''wandy'', given by the
Nyungar people of south-west Western Australia. 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
Flinders may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
Australia New South Wales
* Flinders County, New South Wales
* Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour
* Flinders, New South Wa ...
' expedition in 1801.
Reproduction
Like many skinks, King's skink is
viviparous, and after a
gestation
Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...
period of 20–22 weeks,
gives birth to litters of 2–8 young that have a typical mass of . Juvenile mortality is high and growth to adult size is slow, so mature King's skinks can be quite long lived.
References
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
Australian Faunal DirectoryMore photosDistribution map
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3008779
Egernia
Reptiles of Western Australia
Skinks of Australia
Endemic fauna of Australia
Reptiles described in 1838
Taxa named by John Edward Gray