Wickelskink
| Wickelskink | ||||||||||||
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Wrapped skink ( Corucia zebrata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Corucia | ||||||||||||
| JE Gray , 1855 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Corucia zebrata | ||||||||||||
| JE Gray, 1855 |
The wrapped skink ( Corucia zebrata ), also known as the wrapped tail skink , has a total length of up to 75 centimeters. With a head-torso length of 35 centimeters, it is the largest skink in the world. He lives on the Solomon Islands Bougainville , Choiseul , New Georgia , Santa Isabel , Nggela Sule , Guadalcanal , Malaita , Makira , Ugi ni Masi , Owa Raha and on the Shortland Islands . Wickelskinke are tree dwellers and populate both the coastal rainforest and mountain forests at heights of up to 1000 meters.
The animals are gray-green to light olive-green in color. The back is patterned with light and dark spots or stripes, from which the type epithet zebrata is derived. The German names allude to the strong prehensile tail, which is strong enough that the lizards can hold onto it alone. There are two subspecies:
- Corucia zebrata alfredschmidti KÖHLER, 1997
- Corucia zebrata zebrata GRAY 1855
Way of life
Wrap-tailed skinks are sluggish and spend the day sleeping in the trees. They eat at night and also go to the ground to do so. Among other things, they eat the leaves of ivy and pepper . Wrap-tail skinks are viviparous and give birth to one or two young animals after a gestation period of 6 months. These are 29 to 33 centimeters long at birth, with a head-torso length of 14 to 16 centimeters. The birth weight is 100 to 120 grams.
literature
- Manfred Rogner: Echsen 1 , Ulmer Verlag, ISBN 3-8001-7248-8
