Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

moloch05

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
Messages
772
Reaction score
8
As everyone knows, there is an incredible diversity of skinks in Australia. The species list at the moment exceeds 370 species. More species are added each year as a result of new discoveries or the splitting of species complexes. One of my favourite groups of skinks are members of the genus Egernia. These are mostly medium to large lizards that are usually found in rocky habitats. Most of these live within crevices although some, such as White's Skinks (Egernia whitii), will also dig burrows. A few species from the interior are nocturnal sand dwellers.

This post is a summary of the species that I seen along the east coast of Australia. Many of these pics have been included in previous posts but I thought that it might be useful to put these together so that the local/regional variation is obvious.

When hot, Egernia are often wary and hard to approach. The early morning seems to be the best for photographing these skinks since at this time of day, they are intent on basking. I can then usually get quite close and if they flee, I don't have to wait long before they re-emerge from their crevices.

The skinks in this post were photographed at six locations. I will begin with those from Girraween in southeastern Queensland then work my way down to Tasmania.

GIRRAWEEN NATIONAL PARK, QLD -- This park is situated in the region known as the granite belt. This is a herp-rich park and is full of skinks on a warm, sunny day. This granite dome is an excellent place for several species of lizards, particularly Cunningham's Skinks (E. cunninghami).
girraween1.jpg


girraween2.jpg




Cunningham's Skink (Egernia cunninghami) -- New England form. These are very common on granite outcrops in the park. Some lived on rocks in the campground.
cunninghams1_giraween.jpg


cunninghams2_giraween.jpg


cunninghams3_giraween.jpg


cunninghams6_giraween.jpg


cunninghams9_giraween.jpg



White's Skink (Egernia whitii) -- a few seen but outnumbered by both Cunningham's and E. mchpeei.
whites_girraween.jpg



Egernia mcpheei
McPhees1_girraween.jpg


McPhees2_girraween.jpg



MT. KAPUTAR NP, NSW -- an isolated mountain west of the main body of the Great Dividing Range. The park is located in northern NSW. My son and I have visited it once and drove up to the rocky summit where the following photos were taken.
MtKaputar1.jpg


MtKaputar2.jpg



Cunningham's Skink -- I only saw this single Cunningham's. It basked within meters of Tree, White's and "Mt. Kaputar" Skinks. I think that there would be an interesting study here for someone to work out how these large skinks can coexist on the same rocks.
cunninghams1_kaputar.jpg


cunninghams2_kaputar.jpg



White's Skink:
whites1.jpg


whites2.jpg


whites3.jpg



Tree Skink (Egernia striolata):
tree1.jpg



"Mt. Kaputar Skink" -- listed as a known but undescribed species in "A Guide to the Reptiles of New South Wales".
kaputar1.jpg


kaputar2.jpg


kaputar3.jpg




WARRUMBUNGLE NATIONAL PARK, NSW -- another isolated mountain range situated west of the Great Dividing Range. This was once the location of a massive volcano. Now, only the plugs and dykes remain.
warrumbungles1.jpg


warrumbungles2.jpg


warrumbungles3.jpg



Black Rock Skink (Egernia saxatilis saxatilis) -- this race is found only in the Warrumbungles. It is separated from other populations of Black Rock Skinks by a few hundred kilometers. It looks different and I am surprised that in this day of splitting, it has not been re-described as a different species.
blackrock2.jpg


blackrock1.jpg



White's Skinks -- I saw plain-backed, spotted-backed and stripe-backed White's Skinks at the Warrumbungles. They are one of the most abundant lizards encountered in rocky areas along the Grand High Tops walk (upper elevation in the park).
whites6.jpg


whites7.jpg


whites8.jpg




BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, NSW -- a couple of hours west of the centre of Sydney.
BlueMtns1.jpg


BlueMtns2.jpg


BlueMtns3.jpg



Cunningham's Skinks -- so far, I have only found a single colony near one of the lookouts.
cunninghams_blueMtns4.jpg


cunninghams_blueMtns1.jpg


cunninghams_blueMtns2.jpg


cunninghams_blueMtns3.jpg




White's Skinks -- common along the edge of the cliffs.
whites4.jpg


whites5.jpg



ROYAL NATIONAL PARK, NSW -- just south of Sydney.
royal5.jpg


... outcrops like this are ideal skink (and other reptile) habitat.
royal3.jpg


Cunningham's Skinks -- I only know of a few colonies and all are in rocks just above the big cliffs near the ocean.
cunninghams_royal2.jpg


cunninghams_royal1.jpg


cunninghams_royal3.jpg


cunninghams_royal5.jpg


cunninghams_royal4.jpg



White's Skinks -- a common lizard on rocky outcrops in the park.
whites8royal.jpg


whites_royal10.jpg


cunninghams_royal6.jpg


whites_royal11.jpg




CARRINGTON FALLS, NSW -- less than an hour from Wollongong.
CarringtonFalls1.jpg


... these rocks are the home to many lizards.
CarringtonFalls2.jpg



Black Rock Skink (Egernia saxatilis intermedia):
blackrock5_mac.jpg


blackrock4_mac.jpg


blackrock3_mac.jpg



TASMAN NATIONAL PARK, TAS

White's Skinks are the only Egernia to be found in Tasmania. In my months there for work, I saw them fairly often in the summer but only managed this single photo from Cape Hauy.
whites1_tas.jpg



Regards,
David
 
Here are two more Egernia skinks from the east coast:

LAMINGTON NATIONAL PARK, QLD
lamington2.jpg


lamington1.jpg



This is the home of the largest species of Egernia, the Land Mullet (E. major).
landmullet1.jpg


landmullet2.jpg


landmullet3.jpg




MT. GLORIOUS, QLD
mtGlorious.jpg


CAPE HILLSBOROUGH NATIONAL PARK, QLD
capehills1.jpg


The above shots are the habitat of Major Skinks (E. frerei). I found this to be one of the most difficult Egernia to approach. They are quick to flee to cover and then will remain hidden sometimes for more than an hour.
frerei1.jpg


frerei2.jpg


frerei3.jpg



Regards,
David
 
Great pics, it really does emphasis the variation within species when you can look at them all together like that, particularly with the white's skinks.
Richard Shine has done some research on competition between some of these Egernia skinks as well as Eulamprus species that share habitat: http://www.springerlink.com/content/4xg2kmjv6vjbkwcu/fulltext.pdf
 
moloch05 that was the best thread i have seen on APS! congratulations on a job very well done! Brad.
 
Thanks for the kind remarks. I am glad that the photos are enjoyed.

Regards,
David
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top