King's skink (''Egernia kingii)'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
skink
Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...
, a
lizard in the
family Scincidae. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''kingii'', is in honor of Australian
Phillip Parker King, who explored the coast of Australia while he was an officer in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
.
Geographic range
King's skink is native to coastal regions of south-western
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
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
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s and
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s' 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
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the sou ...
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' expedition in 1801.
Reproduction
Like many skinks, King's skink is
viviparous
In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...
, 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 pregn ...
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". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 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