As we reach the middle of December we come to the edge of something amazing, this week Issue 99 (the second to last issue of the year) is being released and I just want to say thank you to all the people who read and comment on these wildlife blogs. And while we have had some shameful moments (ahem Shame Faced Crab I’m looking at you), we’ve had plenty of great ones too, such as this weeks creature. Hope you guys enjoy.

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Issue #99 – Solomon Island Skink

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Chordata

Class – Reptilia

Order – Squamata

Family – Scincidae

Genus – Corucia

Species – zebrata

Related Species – Solomon Island Skinks are closely related to the Blue Tounged Skins (Tiliqua sp) (1)

Range

Come join the Circulus

The Solomon Island Skink is the largest extant species of skink, with an adult length of 80cm, with over half the lizards length made up of tail, and a maximum weight of almost a kilogram. The skinks are generally a dull green colour with brown or grey bands across their body, and like other members of the skink family, are fairly elongated with relatively short legs. The tail is prehensile, and helps the lizard move through its arboreal habitat, and is the source of the animal’s alternate common name, the Monkey Tailed Skink.

Solomon Island Skink’s are obligate herbivores, feeding on leaves, flowers and fruit, with the bulk of foraging done at dusk and dawn. As such the lizards have good low light vision, as well as a developed sense of smell using their tongue to flick sent particles back to the Jacobson’s Organ in the roof of the mouth, in a similar fashion to snakes. The skinks are communal animals, and form a group of similarly aged individuals and their young called a Circulus (which translates from Latin as a circular company (2)), with all animals participating in defence of both territory and young.

Like the majority of skinks, the Solomon Island Skink gives birth to a single new-born, with the juvenile skinks maintained via a fully developed placenta over the eight month gestation period. Upon birth the new-born skinks are large compared to their mothers, with a length of 30cm in length and a weight of almost 170 grams. New-born skinks stay with the Circulus for up to a year, with all individuals in the group defending them, despite being potentially unrelated to the juvenile lizards. Whilst largely defensive in regards to intruders, groups of adult skinks have been observed ‘adopting’ orphaned or abandoned juveniles (3).

Five Sly Skinks

While reduced leg size is common in skinks, the Western Serpentiform Skink (Eumecia anchietae) has taken this trait to the extreme, with a long snake like body and four tiny vestigial legs, only visible on close inspection of the lizard.

Red Eyed Crocodile Skinks (Tribolonotus gracilis) take social interactions a step further than their giant Solomon Island cousins, when feeling threatened they cry out to other members of their Circulus for help

The Green-Blooded Skink (Prasinohaema virens) is one of the few terrestrial vertebrates to have green blood. This occurs to a build-up of the bile pigment biliverdin, the same chemical that causes jaundice in humans (4)

Several species of skink are considered ‘Lazerus Taxons’ due to being declared extinct, only to be revealed to be alive years, sometimes even decades later. Examples of this include the half meter long Terror Skink (Phoboscincus bocourti) of New Caledonia which was declared extinct in 1927, only to be rediscovered over seventy years later in 2003

No mention of skinks is completed without a mention of the well-known Blue-Tongued Skink (Tiliqua scinoides). Early settlers to Australia and Papua New Guinea believed (incorrectly) that these skinks were deadly venomous due to the colourful nature of the lizards threat display

Bibliography

1 - www.arkive.org

2 - Andrews,E.A; 1875. Latin-English Lexicon. Harper & Brothers publishers, 329 & 331 Pearl Street, Franklin Square, New York, U.S.A. 1663 pp.

3 - Wright, Kevin M. (1996). "The Solomon Island Skink". Reptile & Amphibian Magazine 3 (2): 10–19.

4 - Austin,C.C. and K. W. Jessing 1994 Green-blood pigmentation in lizards. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 109A (3): 619-626

Picture References

1 - https://tilgatenaturecentre.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/dsc_0383.jpg

2 - http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/maps/slb_eth.jpg

3 - https://adlayasanimals.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/solomon_island_prehensile_tailed_skink_1586262195.jpg

4 - http://www.sun-gazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sdfsdff33f.jpg

And that is Issue 99, next issue celebrates 100 issues and what better creature to cover then the mysterious ‘Rooikat’. Until then critic, comment and suggest future issues as well as making sure you check past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary.

Many Thanks and Seasons Greetings

Impurest Cheese