White's skink

White's skink (Liopholis whitii), also known commonly as White's rock skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

White's skink
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Liopholis
Species:
L. whitii
Binomial name
Liopholis whitii
(Lacépède, 1804)
Synonyms[2]
  • Scincus whitii
    Lacépède, 1804
  • Lygosoma moniligera
    A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839
  • Liopholis moniligera
    — Fitzinger, 1843
  • Hinulia whitii
    — Gray, 1845
  • Egernia whitii
    — Boulenger, 1887
  • Liopholis whitii
    — Gardner et al., 2008

Etymology

The specific name, whitii, is in honour of Irish surgeon and naturalist John White.[3]

Geographic range

L. whitii is found in south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania and many Bass Strait islands.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of L. whitii are forest, shrubland, and rocky areas, at altitudes from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[1] White's skink prefers dry habitats, usually on steep hills.

Description

White's skink is slow-growing, to a maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about 90 mm (3.5 in), and may take four years to reach maturity.

Taxonomy

E. whitii is highly variable and may be a complex of closely related species[4][5]

Behaviour

L. whitii lives in families of up to seven in many-chambered tunnels with two exits to provide alternate escape routes. The main entrance usually faces west.

Reproduction

L. whitii gives birth to live young.[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Egernia.

References
  1. Shea G, Cogger H, Greenlees M (2018). "Liopholis whitii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T178520A101748542.en.
  2. Species Liopholis whitii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Egernia whitii, p. 284).
  4. Wildlife of Tasmania – White’s Skink
  5. Cogger HG (1979). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed: Sydney. ISBN 0-589-50108-9.

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III ... Scincidae ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Egernia whitii, pp. 135–136).
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Lacépède (1804). "Mémoire sur plusieurs animaux de la Nouvelle-Hollande dont la description n'a pas encore été publiée ". Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 4: 184–211. (Scincus whitii, new species, p. 209). (in French).
  • Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280. (Liopholis whitii, p. 332).



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