Giant spiked skink

Giant spiked skink
	Giant Spiny Skink ( Bellatorias major ), Lamington NP , Queensland (Australia)
Systematics
Order :	Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank:	Scincomorpha (Scincoidea)
Family :	Skinks (Scincidae)
Subfamily :	Egerniinae
Genre :	Bellatorias
Type :	Giant spiked skink
Scientific name
	Bellatorias major
	( Gray , 1845)

The egernia major ( Bellatorias major , Syn. : Egernia major ) is a species of reptile of the family of skinks (Scincidae). It is one of the largest skinks in Australia and is called Land Mullet by the Australians .

features

The giant spiked skink reaches a total length of up to 65 cm, of which about half is its head-trunk length (snout to anus). The tail length is 1–1.2 times its actual body length. The head and body show an approximately square cross-section. The back is dark brown to gray, the scales smooth to weakly keeled. In contrast to other types of the Egernia group, to which it was previously counted, it has a small number (28-30) of rows of scales in the middle of its body. The skink has relatively large eyes, the lids are surrounded by a clear cream-colored ring. There is little difference between males and females: adult males have a slightly shorter body and a slightly longer head. It differs from its closest relative, Bellatorias frerei , in the scaling of the 4th toe: the giant spiked skink has two rows of scales on the 4th toe in contrast to a row of scales in Bellatorias frerei .

Way of life

The giant spiked skink is diurnal, shy and lives on the ground. He prefers the edge of the rainforest, where on the one hand he can find fallen trees as protection and on the other hand he can sunbathe in clearings. Like a number of other species in the Egernia group, it shows pronounced social behavior and lives in the family. It is omnivorous: its food mainly includes mushrooms, but also berries, seeds, insects and snails. Mating takes place in October, and 2–9 live cubs are born in February. At birth, the young animals have a total body length of about 15 cm. Giant spiked skinks reach an old age (11–23 years). The red-bellied black otter is one of their enemies .

distribution

The giant spiny skink lives in the rainforests of eastern Queensland and New South Wales (Australia) between the Conondale Ranges in the north and the Hawkesbury River in the south. It occurs from sea level to about 840 m.

Systematics

The giant spiked skink was first described as tropidolepisma major in 1845 by curator John Edward Gray of the zoological department of the British Museum . In February 1845 an illustration appeared in the report on the British Antarctic Expedition 1839–1843, and in June of the same year a description of a preparation from the collection of the British Museum followed. In 1887 this type of Boulenger was assigned to the genus Egernia . Therefore, the giant spiked skink is usually referred to as Egernia major in the literature . However, as early as the 19th century it was believed that the name Egernia covered different genres. But it wasn't until 2008 that Gardner et al. clarify the phylogeny of the Egernia group through molecular biological investigations . They split this group into four genera and assigned the giant skink to the genus Bellatorias (Wells & Wellington, 1984).

literature

W. Bittmann and B. Fugger: terra nature travel guide Australia: Queensland. 2nd edition, Tecklenborg Verlag, Steinfurt 2008, ISBN 3-934427-67-7 .
DG Chapple: Ecology, life-history, and behavior in the Australian Scincid genus Egernia, with comments on the evolution of complex sociality in lizards. Herpetological Monographs, Volume 17, pp. 145–180, 2003,
MG Gardner, AF Hugall, SC Donnellan, MN Hutchinson and R. Foster: Molecular systematics of social skinks: phylogeny and taxonomy of the Egernia group (Reptilia: Scincidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 154, pp. 781-794, 2008
GM Shea: Morphology and natural history of the Land Mullet Egernia major (Squamata: Scincidae). Australian Zoologist, Vol. 31, 351-364, 1999

Individual evidence

↑ Shea, table 1.
^ JE Gray: Reptiles. In: The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Erebus and Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, RN, FRS, during the years 1839 to 1843. Volume 2, ed. by J. Richardson and JE Gray. EW Janson, London, 1845.

Web links

Commons : Giant Spiked Skink ( Bellatorias major ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Bellatorias major in the Australian Faunal Directory
Bellatorias major in The Reptile Database

[1] Shea, table 1.

[2] JE Gray: Reptiles. In: The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Erebus and Terror, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, RN, FRS, during the years 1839 to 1843. Volume 2, ed. by J. Richardson and JE Gray. EW Janson, London, 1845.