Giant blue tongue skink
| Giant blue tongue skink | ||||||||||||
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Giant blue tongue skink ( Tiliqua gigas ) |
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| Tiliqua gigas | ||||||||||||
| ( Schneider , 1801) |
The Tiliqua gigas or Guinea-Tiliqua gigas ( Tiliqua gigas ) is a lizard from the family of skinks (Scincidae).
description
The giant blue tongue skink reaches a body length of up to 60 cm. The males are more powerfully built than the females. The body is predominantly olive brown in color and has black spots and transverse changes. The head and throat area are whitish to greyish in color. The most distinctive feature, as with all bluetongue skinks, is the blue tongue, which is used to track down prey and to deter enemies. In contrast to the very similar common blue- tongue skink Tiliqua scincoides , the blue color is limited to the tip of the tongue while the root of the tongue is pink. Another good distinguishing feature are the body scales, which are keeled in T.gigas, but rounded in T.scincoides . The voluminous body and the relatively short "stubby" legs are typical of both species.
Distribution area and habitat
The giant blue tongue skink is native to New Guinea and eastern Indonesia . It prefers dry to moderately moist habitats such as B. forest areas and is mostly under tree stumps, hollow trunks or similar places.
food
The giant blue tongue skink is omnivorous . Its prey includes snails , worms , insects and arachnids . But it also eats plant-based food such as flowers and fruits.
Reproduction
The giant blue tongue skink becomes sexually mature at around two years of age. Mating usually takes place between September and November. He is one of the lizards that give birth to life. After a gestation period of around 120 to 130 days, the female gives birth to between eight and thirteen young animals. The birth size is between 15 and 20 centimeters. Giant blue tongue skinks can live up to 17 years.
Subspecies
- Southern New Guinea blue-tongue skink ( Tiliqua gigas evanescens )
- Kei Island bluetongue skink ( Tiliqua gigas keyensis )
literature
- Kurt Deckert: Urani animal kingdom - fish, amphibians, reptiles . Urania, Leipzig 1991
- Manfred Rogner: Lizards, Vol. 2, monitor lizards, skinks and other lizards as well as bridge lizards and crocodiles . Ulmer, 1994