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Text Written by James Wilson
The Common blue-tongued skink was the first blue-tongue species to be
described. As its common name implies, it is the most common of the blue-tongues to
occur in the hobby. Its scientific name, scincoides, is of Neo-Greek origins,
meaning like Scincus (a genus of skinks found in northern Africa to southwest
Asia). Currently, there are three recognized subspecies: the Eastern
blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides), the Northern blue-tongued skink
(Tiliqua scincoides intermedia), and the Tanimbar Island blue-tongued skink
(Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea). Because of its variation in coloration, pattern,
and range, and because of the many subspecies that it has been divided into,
I have decided to cover this species on a sub-specific level.
Eastern Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides)
The Eastern Blue-tongued Skink was very popular and common in the US
hobby back in the 1980s, but was later cast aside by collectors and breeders
who were more interested in the larger northern blue-tongue (intermedia) which
was very expensive at the time. Ironically, because of the sudden interest
shift of breeding efforts, the Eastern Blue-tongued Skink is currently very hard
to find in the US hobby, causing it to now be very desirable and expensive.
When they are available, they often look suspiciously like intergrades, or
northern blue-tongues. I have seen northern blue-tongues being marketed as
eastern blue-tongues on more than one occasion.
Description
The Eastern blue-tongue is variable in color, but usually has a
grey to tan background color with darker bands that extend over the back onto
the sides, and sometimes continuing onto the belly. The scales of the paler
interspaces (between the darker bands) are usually marked with dark lateral
edges, creating a series of thin dark brown lines that run down the length of the
body. Many specimens possess a heavy, dark brown or black, temporal streak
that starts at the back of the eye and runs back to the top of the ear opening.
Their forelimbs are basically patternless, and are always much lighter in
color than the hind limbs. The anterior temporal scales on the Eastern
blue-tongue are elongated and much longer than the other temporal scales. This skink
has 34-40 mid-body scale rows, and its tail accounts for 50-60% of the
snout-vent length, and it often appears to be thicker than the other three
subspecies. Average adult size for this subspecies is 17-19 inches (43-48 cm), with
some individuals growing as large as 21 inches (53 cm). Females can produce 10
to 20 live young in a litter.
Distribution and Habitat
The Eastern blue-tongued skink can be found in
south-eastern South Australia and throughout the majority of Victoria, New South
Wales, and southern Queensland, where its range moves north up the east coast
along the Cape York Peninsula.
The Eastern blue-tongued skink has also been observed in a small isolated
population in extreme north-western South Australia about 600 miles away from the
nearest point of the range that they were previously thought to be restricted
to. The existence of this population was first reported in 1992, by G.R.
Johnston, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. He was
unable to determine whether they were naturally occurring. However, the local
aboriginal people had known of them for a long time. The Eastern blue-tongue
inhabits a wide variety of habitats, including coastal woodlands, montane
forests, and semi-arid grasslands.
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