Morethia Obscura
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The shrubland Morethia skink (''Morethia obscura'') is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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 ...
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 ...
to Australia, of the family Scincidae, found in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
,
Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...
,
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
in
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 ...
.


History of nomenclature

Prior to 1845, this species of skink had been generally recognised as species ''M. lineoocellatus.'' In 1845, J.E Gray an eminent British zoologist, distinguished the shrubland Morethia skink from the ''M. lineoocellatus'' as it had supranasal scales and renamed it ''M. anomalus''. G.M. Storr described the more commonly known shrubland morethia skink as ''Morethia obscura'' in 1972. In 1972, Storr carried out a study and made observations based on research conducted by M. Smyth in the same year. This separated the new species ''M. obscura'' from ''M. lineoocellata'' using the condition of the
supraciliary scale In reptiles, the supraciliary scales are the scales located immediately above the eyes, and under the supraocular scale In scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the eye.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nils ...
s described by Smyth and the presence of supranasal scales as the major diagnostic.


Description

Skinks are small reptiles that belong to the family Scincidae. The family Scinicidae is described as being one of the most diverse
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 ...
families known. Skinks in general have quite small legs not in proportion to their body size and no pronounced neck but are bilaterally symmetrical. The shrubland Morethia skink (''M. obscura'') is, often mistaken for the ragged snake eyed skink (''C. pannosus)''. ''M. obscura'' is a small
terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
lizard, with an average adult body weight of approximately 1.9 grams, with an olive brown to olive gray dorsal surface. This species sometimes has a pale
dorsolateral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
stripe and a broad irregular black lateral stripe. Adults with intact tails measure approximately 107 mm to 129 mm with a snout vent length of anywhere between 18 mm to 56 mm. The ''M. obscura'' has one pair of nuchals, which are two or more plates covering of the dorsal portion of the neck. These skinks have one to four ear openings with a tympanic middle ear system with an inner ear structure called an
otolith An otolith ( grc-gre, ὠτο-, ' ear + , ', a stone), also called statoconium or otoconium or statolith, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The sa ...
which detects acceleration and acoustic sounds with a hearing range of up to 40 dB. Scales on the mid body are usually between 26 and 28 rows wit
lamellae
(thin plates) under the fourth toe, which are smooth or keeled an
unicarinate


Distribution

Shrubland morethia skinks can be found in woodlands, heaths and shrublands, often in association with mallee and spinifex, within
arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
and
semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
areas of southwest
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, southern
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
and some of its offshore islands, northwest
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
and southern
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. They are abundant in open areas with little
vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...
, such as forest edges, so that they can utilise the food resources within a forest, but still reach the ambient light and temperature levels required for
heliothermic
species. Studies have found they are less abundant, almost non-existent in heavily vegetated areas. These areas generally have a rainfall of less than 500mm per annum.


Diet

Not much is known about the specific diet of ''M. obscura'' though from studies on other species from the same family it can be deduced that they are primarily
insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...
with typical prey including
crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...
,
flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
,
beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s
grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...
s and the multitude of insects found in vegetative
undergrowth Undergrowth usually refers to the vegetation in the lower part of a forest, which can obstruct passage through the forest. The height of undergrowth is usually considered to be 0.3 – 3 m (1 – 9 ft.). Undergrowth can also refer to all ...
of forests.


Reproduction

''M. obscura'' reproduce sexually with
dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
sexual system (distinct female and male organisms) which is a species characteristic, and is an
oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
animal. Generally, clutch size is anywhere from 3 to 5 eggs. Breeding season commences from October to early November with fertilised eggs retained in the female reproductive system until late January each year when the embryo within the laid eggs is in an advanced developed state.


Threats


Fire

Altered
fire regime A fire regime is the pattern, frequency, and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevail in an area over long periods of time. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. A fire regime describes th ...
s may cause a threat to ''M. obscura'' as it has been found to be more abundant in areas that have experienced thinning and burning. ''M. obscura'' response to fire is still unclear, although it is thought that complete loss following fire is unlikely.


Habitat loss

As ''M.obscura'' is found in abundance around the edges of forest fragments this makes it less susceptible to the loss of habitat via
degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradatio ...
.


Predators

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es,
possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...
,
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s,
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s,
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s and larger
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 ...
s have been known to prey upon these smaller reptiles.


Defence

Autotomy Autotomy (from the Greek language, Greek ''auto-'', "self-" and ''tome'', "severing", wikt:αὐτοτομία, αὐτοτομία) or self-amputation, is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usual ...
gives the skink the ability to regenerate lost tails. ''M. obscura'' have a tapering tail that will detach if a predator is within reach, however they are able to regrow their tail within a few months. They have also been known to bury themselves in loose soil to hide when being pursued.Greer, Allen E. 1981. A new species of Morethia (Lacertilia: Scincidae) from northern Australia, with comments on the biology and relationships of the genus. Records of the Australian Museum 33(2): 89–122, July 1980. ublished February 1981


Gallery

File:Obscure Skink (Morethia obscura) (8744545596).jpg, ''M. obscura''


References

Morethia Reptiles described in 1972 Skinks of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxa named by Glen Milton Storr {{Skink-stub