The land mullet (''Bellatorias major'') is one of the largest members of the

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 ...

family ( Scincidae).

Description

The species may reach total lengths of up to 60 cm (23.6 inches). They are uniform glossy black to brown, with a paler ring around the eye. Their colour, along with their large size, allow them to maintain a body temperature of 30 degrees Celsius; they spend much of the day basking in the sun. Adult males have slightly shorter bodies but slightly longer forelimbs and heads than adult females cited in Shea, 2006 Morphology and natural history of the Land Mullet (Squamata: Scincidae) ''Australian Zoologist 31'' (2), December 1999. Accessible at http://www.rzsnsw.org.au/Volumes%20of%20RZS%20papers/1999%20vol%2031(2)/Shea%20G%20M%20Morphology%20and%20natural%20history%20of%20the%20Land%20Mullet%20Egernia%20major%20(Squamata%20Scincidae).pdf Accessed 14 April 2014 The ventral side (belly) ranges in colouration from auburn (orange-brown) to white Egernia Major (Land Mullet), 2001 Queensland Term Wildlife Field Guide. Vince King, Hobart College, 2002. Accessible at: http://people.hws.edu/fieldguide/show.asp?ID=105 Accessed 18 April 2014 Juveniles have prominent cream lateral spotsSteve Wilson (2005) A Field Guide to Reptiles of Queensland. Australia: New Holland Publishers. It is long-lived - with one captive female lizard known to have lived for at least 23 years The common name "land mullet" is said to date back to Longman (1918), who reported it to be in common usage for the species around

Tamborine Mountain Tamborine Mountain is a plateau and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tamborine Mountain had a population of 7,506 people. Geography The plateau is a , . The name is from the of Yugumbir language of the Wanger ...

. The name probably alludes to the superficial resemblance to the homonymous fish, which has a similarly blunt head, large scales and is of similar size and coloration.

Habitat and Distribution

Native 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 ...

, they are generally restricted to the rainforest of south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The range of natural distribution is in discontinuous locations from the northern side of the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

in the south, to the

Conondale Range The Conondale Range is a mountain range in Queensland, located between Maleny, Kenilworth, Kilcoy and Jimna. The range is the most westerly part of the Sunshine Coast hinterland and part of the Great Dividing Range. The highest point on the ra ...

, near

Maleny Maleny (pronounced ''mah-lay-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , the locality of Maleny had a population of 3,959 people. Maleny was a timber town ...

in south eastern Queensland.* A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia - Steve Wilson & Gerry Swan page 206 They occur at altitudes from sea level (Park Beach, New South Wales) to 840 m (Acacia Plateau, Queensland)Shea, 2006 Morphology and natural history of the Land Mullet (Squamata: Scincidae) ''Australian Zoologist 31'' (2), December 1999. Accessible at http://www.rzsnsw.org.au/Volumes%20of%20RZS%20papers/1999%20vol%2031(2)/Shea%20G%20M%20Morphology%20and%20natural%20history%20of%20the%20Land%20Mullet%20Egernia%20major%20(Squamata%20Scincidae).pdf Accessed 14 April 2014 The species favours habitat with many fallen logs, and it remains in close proximity to these. The restricted sunlight of the forest type require a number of basking sites to be available. It is less frequently found in other types of environs, such as the open eucalypt woodland of the region. The lizards shelter in hollow logs or burrows. Often these are dug into the soil-bound root systems of fallen trees.

Behaviour

Land mullets are normally reported to be very shy, dashing noisily to the cover of dense low vegetation if disturbed. However, in some popular National Parks, the lizards have become habituated - scavenging close to humans for scraps at picnic and camping sites.

Reproduction

Land mullets are live-bearing reptiles which usually reproduce roughly 4 to 9 independent offspring per litter. Largely solitary, they primarily associate only when it is time to mate.

Diet

The land mullet eats woody fungi, mushrooms, berries, seeds, insects such as beetles and grasshoppers as well as decaying fruit material'

Gallery

DSC wer.jpg, Land Mullet, Lamington National Park, Queensland Land Mullet 6.jpg, Land Mullet, Lamington National Park, Queensland

References

External links

Morphology and natural history of the Land Mullet Egernia major (Squamata: Scincidae)

Australian Reptile Park
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1228370 Skinks of Australia Reptiles described in 1845 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Bellatorias