Identify a Lizard

[Crafers]

Hi,
I'm not a reptile person but I'd like someone to identify a lizard for me. I've see lots of blue tongue lizards but never one like this.It's very spiky. I'll post photos I think.

Thanks

 

[baker]

Cunningham skink (Egernia cunninghami).
Cheers Cameron

 

[Crafers]

Cunningham skink (Egernia cunninghami).
Cheers Cameron

Thanks Cameron, I've lived here over 20 years and never seen one before.

 

[Ryan-James]

Hmmmm yes, it seems you have a rare spiny tailed hand skink (palmus back verandarus).

Sorry that was really bad, it was much funnier when I said it in my attenbro voice.

Thats a neat find anyhow

 

[Crafers]

That's ok Ryan-James I did expect to find some slightly different people than me on the forum(I'd rather play golf).
I gather the Cunningham's skink is reasonable rare in the Mt Lofty ranges or as the wiki puts it "population is considered vulnerable". Would anyone other than me be interested in the sighting or is the Wiki exaggerating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunningham's_skink

 

[Ryan-James]

All good - everyones different, thats what makes places like this forum intereresting. Unfortunately, Im not much into golf as it seems to get in the way of a good herping expedition.

Cunninghams are fairly common on the eastern side of oz and I believe the few that Ive seen in se qld are about as far north as they go.
The interesting thing with the one you have there is that it is from an isolated population being restricted to the Mt Lofty area in SA.
Now Im wondering if there are any physical or trait differences found in the restricted SA population compared to the wider spread south eastern Egernia?

 

[Bluetongue1]

Conservation status is developed at Global (IUCN), Federal and State levels. Globally and Federally, Cunningham’s Skink is listed as not of concern. However, the South Australian government only looks at its own populations of organism when developing state conservation listings. I don’t know what specific criteria SA use but the following are some of the criteria commonly utilised by other authorities in assessing conservation status: range extent, area of occupancy, population size, number of occurrences or percent area with good viability/ecological integrity, environmental specificity, etc.

In SA this skink is restricted to two main populations, occupying quite specific habitat. A few major bushfires or a new disease or other environmental threat, could potentially wipe out either or both population. Hence they are considered to be vulnerable.

ThanksCameron, I've lived here over 20 years and never seen one before.

Where there is one Cunningham, you will find more, unless the one that wandered into your yard is an escaped pet. They live in family groups and colonies on rocky cliff faces or slopes with large boulders. It is just a matter of quietly approaching these areas and keeping a careful eye out, to spot them before they disappear into a rock crevice.

Here is an SA reference (PDF) to this skink,if you are interested... http://www.natureserve.org/sites/de...atureserveconservationstatusfactors_apr12.pdf

 

[pythoninfinite]

The large Egernias such as Cunningham's and the Spiny-tailed Skinks (stokesii, stokesii badia & depressa) are known for their "wedging" habits - they firmly lodge themselves into crevices in rocks or hollow logs, and the backward-pointing spines make it very difficult for predators to dislodge them. For this reason they are often inadvertently collected in firewood (and in WA, in bush-collected sandalwood), where they stay in their secure hidey-hole and can be transported far from their natural range.

Jamie