Blotched Blue-tongued Lizard
Encyclopedia
The Blotched Blue-tongued Lizard (Tiliqua nigrolutea) is a skink
with a fleshy blue tongue which is used to taste the air and scare off potential predators. They are a robust and relatively large member of the skink family
(Scincidae) that tend to rely on camouflage and bluff as their primary means of defence. However, if cornered or molested they put on an impressive and effective defensive display. If further molested they will bite, but mainly as a last resort and although their bite is painful due to their powerful jaws, their teeth are blunt and generally don't break the skin. They are of course harmless like all skinks and are inoffensive by nature, often being kept as pets due to their appealing, inquisitive natures and readiness to become tame.
The lizard is about 35 to 50 cm long and is found in wet and dry sclerophyll
forests, montane
woodland and coastal heathlands. It is an omnivore
with a diet consisting of leaves, flower
s, fruit, slow-moving invertebrate
s, and small vertebrates. The tail can also be dropped (autotomy
) when grasped by a predator (like most skinks) but these large skinks are much less likely to do so.
They are found in south-eastern parts of Australia
including Tasmania
and the islands of Bass Strait
. In the northern parts of their range like the central tablelands of N.S.W, they are restricted to highland areas, whereas in southern Victoria and Tasmania they can be found right down to the coast. Some herpetologists believe that there are two distinct forms of this species - a highland or alpine form and a lowland or southern form. Specimens from the northern parts of the species range (alpine form) are generally larger, blacker and tend to have more colourful blotches on their back, which are sometimes pale pink, salmon-pink or orange in colour.
Blotched Blue-tongued lizards emerge from brumation in early spring, which is the mating season. The young are usually born in autumn, after a relatively long gestation period. These large skinks are viviparous (give birth to live young) and long-lived (anecdotally 20 years or more). They have adapted well to some rural and urban areas where they can be found living on farms and in gardens, where they are an asset, as they love to eat pests like snail
s, slug
s and occasionally rodent
s.
The blotched blue-tongued lizard is among the animals identified from the Pleistocene
fossil sites of the Naracoorte Caves.
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
with a fleshy blue tongue which is used to taste the air and scare off potential predators. They are a robust and relatively large member of the skink family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Scincidae) that tend to rely on camouflage and bluff as their primary means of defence. However, if cornered or molested they put on an impressive and effective defensive display. If further molested they will bite, but mainly as a last resort and although their bite is painful due to their powerful jaws, their teeth are blunt and generally don't break the skin. They are of course harmless like all skinks and are inoffensive by nature, often being kept as pets due to their appealing, inquisitive natures and readiness to become tame.
The lizard is about 35 to 50 cm long and is found in wet and dry sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forests, montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
woodland and coastal heathlands. It is an omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
with a diet consisting of leaves, flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s, fruit, slow-moving invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s, and small vertebrates. The tail can also be dropped (autotomy
Autotomy
Autotomy or self amputation is the act whereby an animal severs one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism designed to elude a predator's grasp...
) when grasped by a predator (like most skinks) but these large skinks are much less likely to do so.
They are found in south-eastern parts of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
including Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and the islands of Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
. In the northern parts of their range like the central tablelands of N.S.W, they are restricted to highland areas, whereas in southern Victoria and Tasmania they can be found right down to the coast. Some herpetologists believe that there are two distinct forms of this species - a highland or alpine form and a lowland or southern form. Specimens from the northern parts of the species range (alpine form) are generally larger, blacker and tend to have more colourful blotches on their back, which are sometimes pale pink, salmon-pink or orange in colour.
Blotched Blue-tongued lizards emerge from brumation in early spring, which is the mating season. The young are usually born in autumn, after a relatively long gestation period. These large skinks are viviparous (give birth to live young) and long-lived (anecdotally 20 years or more). They have adapted well to some rural and urban areas where they can be found living on farms and in gardens, where they are an asset, as they love to eat pests like snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s and occasionally rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s.
The blotched blue-tongued lizard is among the animals identified from the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
fossil sites of the Naracoorte Caves.