Tiliqua rugosa

Taxobox


name = Stump-tailed skink
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
familia = Scincidae
genus = "Tiliqua"
species = "T. rugosa"
binomial = "Tiliqua rugosa"
binomial_authority = Gray, 1825 [Gray, J.E. 1825. A synopsis of the genera of reptiles and Amphibia, with a description of some new species. Annals of Philosophy, 10:193—217]
synonyms ="Trachydosaurus rugosus"

"Tiliqua rugosa", "Shingle-back skink", Stump-tailed skink or Bob tail skink is a short tailed and slow moving blue-tongued skink found in the drier regions of Australia. It is commonly seen sunning itself on roadsides, and has a heavily armored body and can be found in various colors ranging from dark brown to cream.

It is also called the stumpy tail, bobtail, pine-cone, bog-eye or sleepy lizard. It has a short but wide stumpy tail that resembles another head, and may confuse predators. The tail also contains fat reserves, which are drawn upon during hibernation in winter. They are omnivores that eat snails and vegetation, and so spend much of their time browsing through plants for food.

Male and female shinglebacks stay together for about eight weeks during the breeding season, then separate. They often reunite the following year, and such pairs have been known to return to each other every year for up to 20 years [cite journal|author = C. Michael Bull, Steven J. B. Cooper, Ben C. Baghurst | title = Social monogamy and extra-pair fertilization in an Australian lizard, "Tiliqua rugosa" | journal = J. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | publisher = Springer Berlin / Heidelberg | volume = 44 | issue = 1 | year = 1998] . The female produces live young, one or two at a time. The young emerge and eat their afterbirth immediately.The male of a monogamous pair eats less while parenting, remaining alert and ready to give an alarm. The species was once preyed upon by dingos, Australian pythons such as "Morelia spilota", and local peoples; a threat is now more likely to come from large introduced species such as foxes and cats. [cite journal|author = C. M. Bull , and Y. Pamula| title = Enhanced vigilance in monogamous pairs of the lizard, Tiliqua rugosa | journal = Behavioural Ecology| publisher = Oxford University Press | volume = 9 | issue = 5 | pages= Pp. 452-455|year = 1998|url=http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/9/5/452 | format = PDF | issn = 1465-7279
accessdate= 2008-04-12]

The species was formerly known as "Trachydosaurus rugosus". Four subspecies have been described [NRDB species|genus=Tiliqua|species=rugosa] :
*"Tiliqua rugosa rugosa" :Common Shingleback - Western Australia
*"Tiliqua rugosa asper" [Gray, J. E. 1845. Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of die British Museum/Edward Newman, London: xxvii + 289 pp.] :Eastern Shingleback - Eastern states of Australia
*"Tiliqua rugosa konowi" [Mertens, R. 1958. Neue Eidechsen aus Australien. Senckenbergiana Biologica, 39:51-56.] :Rottnest Island Shingleback - Rottnest Island
*"Tiliqua rugosa palarra" [Shea, G.M. 2000. Die Shark-Bay-Tannenzapfenechse Tiliqua rugosa palarra subsp. nov. – in: HAUSCHILD, A., R. HITZ, K. HENLE, G.M. SHEA & H. WERNING (Hrsg.): Blauzungenskinke. Beiträge zu Tiliqua und Cyclodomorphus, pp. 108-112. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 287 pp.] :Shark Bay Shingleback - Shark Bay, Western Australia

References

* Animal, Smithsonian Institution, 2005, pg. 416

External links

* [http://www.trachydosaurus.de Trachydosaurus]