Blue Mountains water skink

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Blue Mountains water skink
Eulamprus leuraensis - The Blue Mountains Water Skink.jpg

Blue Mountains water skink ( Eulamprus leuraensis )

Systematics
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Scincomorpha (Scincoidea)
Family : Skinks (Scincidae)
Subfamily : Sphenomorphinae
Genre : Owlamprus
Type : Blue Mountains water skink
Scientific name
Eulamprus leuraensis
Wells & Wellington , 1984

The Blue Mountains water skink ( Eulamprus leuraensis , English Blue Mountain Water Skink) is a type of skink in the family Scincidae . It lives only in Australia and is an endangered species.

description

In the elongated skink, the middle of the body is flattened and its attractive body is adorned with around 30 rows of densely arranged, smooth scales. These scales shimmer and shimmer in the sunlight . Two distinctive stripes in a yellow-bronze tone extend from the head over the entire length of the body. The stripes fade in the course and end in dots. The Blue Mountains water skink is much darker than any of its related species. Its body color is brown to black. Its characteristic brown-bronze colored head and its golden underside with small brown spots distinguish the species. The short, strong limbs are also darkly colored and provided with bronze-colored stripes. It has five well-developed fingers on each of the front and rear limbs . The average head-trunk length is 8 cm and the average tail length is 16 cm. The small animals can weigh up to 10 g.

behavior

The amphibious carnivores are diurnal. The Blue Mountains water skink finds its prey in the ground vegetation in the marshland . It is primarily an insect eater and often feeds on grasshoppers and small butterflies . A dietary supplement to their animal diet is sometimes plant material and fruits . The Blue Mountains waterskinks are most active on the sunny days between September and late April. In the Australian winter months they are in a state of winter rigor . They overwinter in a burrow or nest in dense vegetation. The dark coloring of the Blue Mountains water skins is very noticeable within the open grassy landscape and if they are discovered by a predator they take refuge in dense clumps of grass or in a cave . The hollows are also used to protect them from bush fires . Such hollows and structures are often used by other animals, e.g. B. the giant grave frog ( Heleioporus australiacus ), created. The male specimens have swollen testicles in September and October , suggesting that the Blue Mountains water skinks mate during this time. The males attract the females by showing lateral body movements during their courtship . In doing so, they become aggressive towards the other males, as they want to impress the females with their competitors in the fight .

distribution

The Blue Mountains water skink is endemic to Southeast Australia. The distribution there is limited to the areas around the Blue Mountains and around the Newnes Plateau , both of which are in NSW . They are known to be at home in 30 locations, but not all habitats have been searched for. It is believed that a population lives on the Boyd Plateau , south of the Jenolan Caves , in the Lithgow Valley south of Sydney . The preferred habitat extends 10 kilometers south and one kilometer east of its southeasternmost point, suggesting a wide range of the species.

habitat

Blue Mountains waterskinks inhabit temperate and high elevations as well as bush landscapes with shrubs and sedges. But they can also be found in swamps, which are one of the rarest habitats in Australia. The swamps, which are 560 meters above sea ​​level , consist of sandy-peaty soils. Occasionally the skinks also live in open forest , scrub, grassland, on heaths and on sandstone floors . The main condition for the habitats is that they have a constant supply of water . Blue Mountains water skinks prefer large, plant-rich swamps, with a deep layer of litter and an always moist subsoil. In the preferred vegetation, the two plant species Tetrarrhena turfosa and Baeckea linifolia dominate .

Danger

Due to the animals' special demands on flora and fauna as well as on the water balance, their habitats are limited and not abundant in Australia. At the same time, these areas are under pressure from agriculture and are likely to be gradually converted to arable land . The few remnants of this species live extremely isolated and are therefore very susceptible to disturbances in their habitat. The growth of the cities is also affecting the biotopes in which the Blue Mountains water skinks have their refuge. The pollution by illegal waste disposal is a particular problem in many places, this may lead to the destruction of vegetation by weed infestation can cause. Earthworks for the construction of sewer pipes have in several cases caused the destruction of the sediment layer, so that the swamps dry up. In addition, larger areas where the Blue Mountains water skink occurs are cut by power lines and fields. Controlled forest fires and pesticide spraying destroy and contaminate these habitats. Skinks are also killed by feral domestic cats , causing further decimation, as evolution failed to produce defense mechanisms ( defense instincts) to protect against carnivores introduced in the 18th century. The introduced wild boars also rummage through the soil and eat the vegetation of the habitats of the Blue Mountains water skinks. Because of these numerous threats, the Blue Mountains water skinks are one of the rarest species of skink in Australia.

protection

As numerous rare and mostly threatened species live around the Blue Mountains, it is of great importance to preserve the unique landscapes. This was recognized by the government in 1959 and that is why the “ Blue Mountains National Park ” was founded that year . A number of priority measures are required to ensure its survival. Better management of urban waste made it possible to limit the spread of invasive weeds. Attempts are also being made to limit the spread of feral cats and wild boars and to decimate their numbers. Further research into the ecological demands of this species is necessary in order to identify further suitable habitats and to place them under protection. A conservation breeding program is already being planned with the aim of expanding the distribution area through the introduction of offspring.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ R. Wells & CR Wellington: A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology, 1, pp. 73-129, 1984
  2. ↑ New South Wales National Park Sand Wildlife Service. (2001) Blue Mountains Water Skink (Eulamprus leuraensis) Recovery Plan. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. Available at: [1]
  3. ^ The Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Species (February, 2010) Profile and Threats Database
  4. ^ T. Halliday & K. Adler: The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002
  5. ↑ HG Cogger, EE Cameron, RA Sadlier & P. ​​Eggler: The Action Plan for Australian Reptiles  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Canberra, ACT: Australian Nature Conservation Agency, 1993@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.environment.gov.au  
  6. ^ Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. (2005) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation, Habitat Degradation, Competition and Disease Transmission by Feral Pigs. Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Heritage. Available at: [2]
  7. ↑ Greater Blue Mountains Drive (February, 2010) Greater Blue Mountains Drive , (February 2010)
  8. ↑ WHC , UNESCO (February 2010)
  9. ^ The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
  10. ↑ Threatened Species: Species, populations and ecological communities of New South Wales

literature

  • R. Wells & CR Wellington: A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 1, 3/4, pages 73-129, 1984 "1983" ( full text )

Web links

Commons : Blue Mountains Waterskink ( Eulamprus leuraensis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files