Verreaux’s Skink Fact Sheet

Verreaux’s Skink. Image: Steve Wilson.

Introduction to Skinks Verreaux’s Skink Anomalopus verreauxii The small shiny lizards we see zipping off paths, shinning One of the most common burrowing skinks in south-east up brick walls and basking in the garden beds are called Queensland is the Verreaux’s Skink (Anomalopus verreauxii). skinks. By any reckoning, the skink family is an extraordinarily Brisbane gardeners frequently un-earth this lizard beneath successful group of animals. Wherever they live, skinks are boards resting on the ground, in loose soil, under decomposing usually the most diverse and abundant reptiles. They thrive in vegetation, and in compost heaps. At first glance the all parts of the continent including the summits of our highest Verreaux’s Skink appears limbless but a closer look reveals peaks where temperatures are too cold for most other reptiles, tiny forelimbs and minute hind limbs. Under more careful and many species are as comfortable among the artificial examination, just three stubby fingers can be seen on the environments of our cities as they are in a bushland setting. forelimbs, while the hind limbs are reduced to simple clawless There are nearly 400 different kinds of skinks in Australia and spurs. As a further adaptation to burrowing, the ear-opening is the list grows longer as more are discovered and named. covered by scales and is represented by a simple depression. Typical skinks have smooth, overlapping scales and four obvious limbs with five fingers and toes. They are alert, sun- loving lizards, quick to flee when pursued, and if captured they readily discard their tails to make good their escape. The underlying force behind the great skink success story is their versatility. Skinks are able to adapt to a range of environments. Depending on where and how they live, skinks modify their behaviour and have evolved a range of different shapes. Some species that live in rocky outcrops are plump and spiny to wedge themselves securely into crevices, while those inhabiting vertical rock faces and tree trunks have flat bodies and long splayed limbs to ensure a firm grip. Skinks that have abandoned the sunshine and moved Image: Steve Wilson. underground have undergone the most extreme makeover. Verreaux’s Skinks are glossy brown to dark greyish brown with Their bodies are long, flexible and highly polished to help a paler band across the base of the head. Juveniles (above) them wriggle with ease through loose soil, and their limbs are generally darker and the band is yellow, sharp-edged and have shrunk so they do not get in the way. In the process, conspicuous. As the lizards mature (below) the band becomes some fingers and toes have been lost. Several species have less obvious but it normally remains discernable on lizards of no external trace of limbs and look more like snakes or worms all ages. than lizards.

Image: Steve Wilson. Image: Steve Wilson.

www.qm.qld.gov.au © The State of Queensland, (Queensland Museum) 2011 Verreaux’s Skinks grow to a total length of 33 cm, but like many skinks they can discard and re-grow their long, thick tails so a head and body measurement of 18 cm is a better indication of size. This is measured from the snout to the vent, which lies level with the hind limb stubs. Adults are about as thick as the finger of an adult human. Verreaux’s Skinks are extremely secretive. Most of their activity takes place under cover, though they are occasionally encountered active above ground at night. When disturbed they quickly burrow into soft soil and compost, slipping through the substrate as easily as an eel through water. Though they can appear quite snake-like, they are harmless, non-venomous lizards. Verreaux’s Skinks feed on soil-dwelling invertebrates such as worms, beetle larvae and other small insects. They deposit clutches of soft, leathery-shelled eggs in damp cavities. The Leuckart’s Skink, Anomalopus leuckartii. Image: Steve Wilson. conspicuous pale bands across the necks of juveniles closely resemble the collars seen on two species of weakly-venomous All retain a degree of functional use of their front legs while crowned snakes that occur in the same area. It is unclear what the hind limbs are nearly useless for locomotion. The reason advantages, if any, are conferred by this prominent pattern but why is unclear, but they may use their front legs to help pull it is unlikely the skinks have anything to gain by mimicking the themselves through soil. inoffensive snakes. When Brisbane gardeners unearth large, short-limbed skinks, Losing legs it is worth remembering that these worm-like lizards have The losing or shortening of limbs is a common evolutionary adopted a unique solution to burrowing that sets them apart course for skinks that burrow. More than 100 species of from hundreds of other burrowing lizards around the world. Australian skinks have elongated bodies and some degree of Further Information limb reduction. In almost every case, limb reduction follows a Ryan, M (Ed)., 2007. Wildlife of Greater Brisbane. Revised similar sequence, with forelimbs forfeited ahead of hind limbs. Edition. Queensland Museum, Brisbane. This means burrowing skinks have fewer fingers than toes, or their fingers and toes are equal in number. Their forelimbs are Wilson, S., 2005. A Field Guide to Reptiles of Queensland, also generally shorter than their hind limbs. The same applies New Holland Publishers, Chatswood, NSW. to hundreds of burrowing skinks around the world. Many Wilson, S. & Swan, G., 2008. A Complete Guide to Reptiles species have lost their forelimbs altogether but retain functional of Australia. Revised Edition. New Holland Publishers, hind limbs to help push themselves forward. Chatswood, NSW. However, Verreaux’s Skink belongs to a group of three closely Author: Steve Wilson related south-east Queensland species that have followed a Queensland Museum different evolutionary process in their limb reduction. For these PO Box 3300, SOUTH BRISBANE QLD 4101 skinks, it is the hind limbs that are greatly reduced. Phone: (07) 3840 7555 http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/

Five-clawed Worm Skink, Anomalopus mackayi. Image: Steve Wilson.

The Five-clawed Worm Skink, Anomalopus mackayi, (above) is a rare species from relict grasslands of the Darling Downs and adjacent parts of inland New South Wales. It has three fingers and two toes. Leuckart’s Skink, Anomalopus leuckartii, (next column) from dry forests and woodlands west of Brisbane has two fingers and a hind limb stump. Verreaux’s Skink from coastal southern Queensland has three fingers and a hind limb stump.

www.qm.qld.gov.au © The State of Queensland, (Queensland Museum) 2011