DOCSLIB.ORG

Vernacular Name SKINK, HOSMER's

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Vernacular Name SKINK, HOSMER's 1/4 Vernacular Name SKINK, HOSMER’S (aka: Hosmer’s spiny-tailed skink) GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Australia: Queensland the adjacent border region of the Northwest Territory. HABITAT Drier ranges, rocky out-crops and stony hills. CONSERVATION STATUS IUCN: Not Yet Assessed (2016). COOL FACTS The PZ is the only U.S. zoo that exhibits Hosmer’s skinks. Like the majority of skinks, these skinks can shed their tails when threatened or frightened. Their tails then regrow, but without the patterns of the original. Their horny skins are folded into scales which can reduce water loss and may facilitate the uptake of solar energy. Members of this family have large head scales, body scales that have bony plates underneath them, and a roof of the mouth that is made of 2, flat bony plates instead of 1, as humans and other animals have. The bony plate is called a palate One distinctive feature of skinks is the bony secondary palate in the roof of the mouth which separates the respiratory and digestive passages. These are confluent in most other lizards. As in all lizards, the roof of the mouth contains a Jacobson's organ. The tongue picks up odorous particles from the air or from the surface of objects to the organ for identification. The skink uses its tongue and eyesight to find food. With well over 100 genera and more than 1,400 species, skinks are by far the largest family of lizards, an exceedingly diverse group. Their diversity is evident in all aspects of their biology. Terrestrial, arboreal, fossorial, and even semi-aquatic skinks exist. Skinks have radiated to fill niches in all types of environments, including arid deserts, savannas, lowland rain-forests, temperate forests, and cool montane habitats. Some skinks are diminutive, but others are large. These lizards vary in morphologic characteristics from short and robust with strong, well-developed limbs to elongated and fragile with tiny or no vestigial limbs. Skink, Hosmer’s 2/4 DIET In the wild: insects, spiders and small lizards, leaves, shoots, berries and fruits and invertebrates. In the zoo: crickets and pinkies. MEDIAN LIFE EXPECTANCY Male: unknown. Female: unknown. ENEMIES - DEFENSE Enemies: dingoes, snakes, crows and birds of prey in addition to large introduced feral species such as foxes, dogs and cats; also humans. Defense: - can shed their tails when threatened or attacked. - when disturbed, they retreat into a rock crevice or hollow log. - body armor, e.g., all skinks possess bony plates within their scales which are composed of compound plates of several interconnected bones beneath each scale. Scales overlap in the fashion of shingles on a roof and confers protection from predators. MATING - CARE OF THE YOUNG Courtship: spring-summer (Sept.-Feb.). Gestation: live-bearing (viviparous). The embryos have placental matter similar to that of mammals. Clutch: 1-6 live young are miniatures of their parents. Births: late summer (Feb.). Neonates are precocious, able to look after themselves right after birth. Once born, they immediately ingest their placental membranes and egg sacs. A few days later they shed their first skin and disperse. Breeding: 2-3 years old depending on size. Sexual Maturity: 3-5 years. SOCIAL INTERACTION Communication, Olfactory: skinks have exceedingly well developed olfactory abilities and employ chemical signals in a variety of social and feeding behaviors. They can detect predators and discriminate prey on the basis of chemical cues. They can recognize and determine species, sex and sexual receptivity of other individuals by scent. They scent-mark their home ranges. LIFE STYLE Activity Period: diurnal. Early in the morning they emerge to bask in sunny areas before foraging for food in the warmer parts of the day Locomotion: these skinks are fat and slow, moving in a waddle fashion and folding their hind limbs alongside their tail bases to move by lateral undulations. They are terrestrial and arboreal. Skink, Hosmer’s 3/4 They live in rock crevices, hollows or dead timber, under exfoliated boulders and among tumbled rocks of scree slopes. They live in colonies on rocky ranges and outcrops basking in the sun. During the cold weather they remain inactive, buried deep in their shelter sites and only emerge to bask when weather conditions are favorable. Being ectothermic, they do not produce their own body heat and rely on the warmth of their surroundings for their body heat. PHYSICAL General Description: bulky, usually somewhat flattened bodies. Size: length, 3.9”-9.36”; can grow to around 12”. Color: pale fawn/yellow to reddish-brown above, darker brown on head and neck. A series of pale brown or cream flecks and spots on head, neck and lips. A few scattered pale and dark brown spots on back, flanks, limbs and tail. Ventral: white, cream or yellowish, sometimes with brown flecks and blotches on throat. Scales: the parietal shields are not in contact behind the interparietal shields. The nasal scale has a postnarial groove. On top of head: large, regular, symmetrical and shield-like. On mid- body: in 24-28 rows. The dorsal, flank and posterior scales have spines. Each dorsal scale has 3-4 sharp keels. Each flank scale has 2-3 sharp keels. Each tail scale has one long spine. Head: moderate. Eyes: small. Scaly, movable lower eyelid lowers to open the eye and raises to close the eye. Ears: 3-7 long, pale-colored ear lobules almost conceal the ear. Snout: blunt. Tongue: well-developed, short, relatively broad and fleshy. Can be extended. Tail: 2.34”, moderate, thick, tapering. Limbs: well-developed. Digits: 4 th toe much longer than 3 rd toe. TAXONOMY Phylum / Subphylum Chordata / Vertebrata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Family Scincidae Genus / species Egernia hosmeri The family name, Scincidae, means “shiny scaled”. REFERENCES - Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K. - Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006. - Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia . 6th ed. Sanibel Island: Ralph Curtis Publishing. Skink, Hosmer’s 4/4 - Hutchins, Michael, James B. Murphy, and Neil Schlager (eds). 2003. Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia . Second Edition. Vol. 7: Reptiles; Turtle & Tortoises to Lizards & Snakes. Farmington Hills, MI: The Gale Group. - Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed at http://www.gbif.org. Mediated distribution data from provider. Uetz, Peter. The Reptile Database - Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2008. The Animal Diversity Web (online). http://animaldiversity.org. - The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016.1. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 6 July 2016. Prepared by: Judith Ehrman, docent. Date: 03-26-10 Photo by: Greg O’Neill, keeper, Reptile House Map by: Dave Schaffer – Bob Sloane, docents Approved by: Date: Reformatted by: Hannah Salvatore and Dave Schaffer, docents Date: 08-14-12 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Cranial Variation in the Egernia Depressa (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) Species Complex Marci G
    RECORDS OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM 26 138–153 (2011) Geometric morphometric analysis of cranial variation in the Egernia depressa (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) species complex Marci G. Hollenshead Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, U.S.A. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT – Few studies have attempted to simultaneously examine geographic, ontogenetic and sexual variation of lizard crania. This study does so with a focus on the Egernia depressa species complex (Pygmy Spiny-tailed Skinks), which occur throughout much of arid Western Australia and inhabits fallen trees in the southern part of its range and rock crevices in disjunct boulder outcrops in the northern part of its range in the Pilbara. Geometric (i.e. landmark-based) morphometrics were used to examine variation in cranial shape in E. depressa, E. cygnitos and E. epsisolus. Cranial differences were evident among the different species; however, the differences depended on which aspect of the cranium was being analysed. A comparison also was made between E. depressa which inhabits tree hollows v. E. cygnitos and E. epsisolus which use rock crevices. The lateral aspect of the cranium of the rock-inhabiting species differs from the log-inhabiting species in having dorsal-ventral compression of the postorbital region. Egernia cygnitos which lives western portion of the Pilbara differs from other species in having a wider cranium with a correspondingly broader palatal region. Sexual dimorphism was not evident, but ontogenetic changes in cranial form were present. KEYWORDS: Australian skinks, Pygmy Spiny-tailed Skinks, Western Australia, landmark-based methods. INTRODUCTION social groups, several individuals will occupy the same The Australian scincid genus Egernia includes some crevice, bask in close proximity and share the same scat of the continent’s largest and most ubiquitous lizards pile (Duffi eld and Bull 2002).
    [Show full text]
  • The Spectacular Sea Anemone 438 by U
    THE AUSTRAL IAN MUSEUM will be 150 years old in March 1977. TAMS has its 5th birthday at the same time. Like all healthy five year olds, TAMS is full of fun, eager to learn about the world and constantly on the go! 1977 is a celebration year. Members enjoy a full and varied programme, are entitled to a discount at the Museum bookshop and have reciprocal rights with many other Societies in Australia and overseas. Join the Society today. THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SOCIETY 6-8 College Street, Sydney 2000 Telephone: 33-5525 from 1st February, 1977 AUSTRAliAN NATURAl HISTORY DECEMBER 1976 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 12 PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, 6-8 COLLEGE STREET, SYDNEY PRESIDENT, MICHAEL PITMAN DIRECTOR, DESMOND GRIFFIN A SATELLITE VIEW OF AUSTRALIA 422 BY J.F . HUNTINGTON A MOST SUCCESSFUL INVASION 428 THE DIVERSITY OF AUSTRALIA'S SKINKS BY ALLEN E. GREER BOTANAVITI 434 TH E ELUSIVE FIJIAN FROGS BY JOHN C. PERNETTA AND BARRY GOLDMAN THE SPECTACULAR SEA ANEMONE 438 BY U. ERICH FRIESE PEOPLE, PIGS AND PUNISHMENT 444 BY O.K . FElL COVER: The sea anemone, Adamsia pal/iata, lives ·com­ IN REVIEW mensally with the hermit crab, Pagurus prideauxi. (Photo: AUSTRALIAN BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS 448 U. E. Friese) A nnual Subscriptio n : $4 .50-Australia; $A5-Papua New Guinea; $A6-other E DITOR/DESIGNE R countr ies. Single copies : $1 ($1.40 posted Australia); $A 1.45-Papua New NANCY SMITH Guinea; $A 1.70-other countries. Cheque or money order p ayable to The ASSISTANT EDITOR Australian Museum should be sent to The Secretary, The Australian Museum, ROBERT STEWART PO Box A285, Sydney South 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Hoser, R. T. 2018. New Australian Lizard Taxa Within the Greater Egernia Gray, 1838 Genus Group Of
    Australasian Journal of Herpetology 49 Australasian Journal of Herpetology 36:49-64. ISSN 1836-5698 (Print) Published 30 March 2018. ISSN 1836-5779 (Online) New Australian lizard taxa within the greater Egernia Gray, 1838 genus group of lizards and the division of Egernia sensu lato into 13 separate genera. RAYMOND T. HOSER 488 Park Road, Park Orchards, Victoria, 3134, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9812 3322 Fax: 9812 3355 E-mail: snakeman (at) snakeman.com.au Received 1 Jan 2018, Accepted 13 Jan 2018, Published 30 March 2018. ABSTRACT The Genus Egernia Gray, 1838 has been defined and redefined by many authors since the time of original description. Defined at its most conservative is perhaps that diagnosis in Cogger (1975) and reflected in Cogger et al. (1983), with the reverse (splitters) position being that articulated by Wells and Wellington (1985). They resurrected available genus names and added to the list of available names at both genus and species level. Molecular methods have largely confirmed the taxonomic positions of Wells and Wellington (1985) at all relevant levels and their legally available ICZN nomenclature does as a matter of course follow from this. However petty jealousies and hatred among a group of would-be herpetologists called the Wüster gang (as detailed by Hoser 2015a-f and sources cited therein) have forced most other publishing herpetologists since the 1980’s to not use anything Wells and Wellington. Therefore the most commonly “in use” taxonomy and nomenclature by published authors does not reflect the taxonomic reality. This author will not be unlawfully intimidated by Wolfgang Wüster and his gang of law-breaking thugs using unscientific methods to destabilize zoology as encapsulated in the hate rant of Kaiser et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Sociality in Lizards: Family Structure in Free-Living King's Skinks Egernia
    Sociality in lizards: family structure in free-living King’s Skinks Egernia kingii from southwestern Australia C. Masters1 and R. Shine2,3 1PO Box 315, Capel, WA 6271 2School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. 3Corresponding author Prof. Rick Shine ph: 612-9351-3772, fax: 612-9351-5609, email: [email protected] King’s Skinks Egernia kingii are large viviparous scincid lizards from southwestern Australia. Although some other species within the genus Egernia are known to exhibit complex sociality, with long-term associations between adults and their offspring, there are no published records of such behaviour for E. kingii. Ten years’ observations on a single family of lizards (a pair of adults plus six successive litters of their offspring) in a coastal suburban backyard 250 km south of Perth also revealed a very stable adult pair-bond in this species. The female produced litters of 9 to 11 offspring in summer or autumn at intervals of one to three years. In their first year of life, neonates lived with the adult pair and all the lizards basked together; in later years the offspring dispersed but the central shelter-site contained representatives of up to three annual cohorts as well as the parents. Adults tolerated juveniles (especially neonates) and their presence may confer direct parental protection: on one occasion an adult skink attacked and drove away a tigersnake Notechis scutatus that ventured close to the family’s shelter-site. Although our observations are based only on a single pair of lizards and their offspring, they provide the most detailed evidence yet available on the complex family life of these highly social lizards.
    [Show full text]
  • Gidgee Skinks Range from 10.5 to 12 Inches in Length with a Stout Body and Rough Edged Scales, Which Are Used to Help Minimize Water Loss
    HHuussbbaannddrryy MMaannuuaall FFoorr GGIIDDGGEEEE SSKKIINNKK EEggeerrnniiaa ssttookkeessiiii Reptilia: Scincidae Compiler: Cindy Jackson Date of Preparation: 14/09/06 Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, Richmond Course Name and Number: Certificate III Captive Animal Management Lecturers: Graeme Phipps. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 2 TAXONOMY ................................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 NOMENCLATURE .......................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 SUBSPECIES .................................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 RECENT SYNONYMS ..................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 OTHER COMMON NAMES ............................................................................................................. 5 3 NATURAL HISTORY ................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 MORPHOMETRICS ......................................................................................................................... 6 3.1.1 Mass and Basic Body Measurements .........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Egernia Stokesii) National Recovery Plan
    Western Spiny-tailed Skink (Egernia stokesii) National Recovery Plan Wildlife Management Program No. 53 Prepared by David Pearson Department of Environment and Conservation WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM NO. 53 Western Spiny-tailed Skink (Egernia stokesii) Recovery Plan 2012 Department of Environment and Conservation Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983 FOREWORD Recovery Plans are developed within the framework laid down in Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) Policy Statements Nos. 44 and 50 (CALM, 1992; CALM, 1994), and the Australian Government Department for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) Recovery Planning Compliance Checklist for Legislative and Process Requirements (DEWHA, 2008). Recovery Plans outline the recovery actions that are required to urgently address those threatening processes most affecting the ongoing survival of threatened taxa or ecological communities, and begin the recovery process. The attainment of objectives and the provision of funds necessary to implement actions are subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need to address other priorities. This Recovery plan was approved by the Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia. Approved Recovery Plans are subject to modification as dictated by new findings, changes in status of the taxon or ecological community, and the completion of recovery actions. Information in this Recovery Plan was accurate at June 2012. Recovery Plan Preparation: This recovery plan was prepared by David Pearson (Department of Environment and Conservation, Science Division). Holly Raudino and Manda Page assisted with editing and formatting, and Amy Mutton and Brianna Wingfield prepared the map. Citation: Department of Environment and Conservation (2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Are Lizards Capable of Inhibitory Control? Performance on a Semi-Transparent Version of the Cylinder Task in Five Species of Australian Skinks
    Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (2020) 74:118 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-02897-y ORIGINAL ARTICLE Are lizards capable of inhibitory control? Performance on a semi-transparent version of the cylinder task in five species of Australian skinks Birgit Szabo1,2 & Sebastian Hoefer1,3 & Martin J. Whiting1 Received: 4 August 2020 /Revised: 13 August 2020 /Accepted: 20 August 2020 # The Author(s) 2020 Abstract Inhibitory control, the inhibition of prepotent actions, is essential for higher-order cognitive processes such as planning, reasoning, and self-regulation. Individuals and species differ in inhibitory control. Identifying what influences inhibitory control ability within and between species is key to understanding how it evolved. We compared performance in the cylinder task across five lizard species: tree skinks (Egernia striolata), gidgee skinks (Egernia stokesii), eastern blue-tongue skinks (Tiliqua s. scincoides), sleepy lizards (Tiliqua r. asper), and eastern water skinks (Eulamprus quoyii). In our task, animals had to inhibit the prepotent motor response of directly approaching a reward placed within a semi-transparent mesh cylinder and instead reach in through the side openings. Additionally, in three lizard species, we compared performance in the cylinder task to reversal learning to determine the task specificity of inhibitory ability. Within species, neither sex, origin, body condition, neophobia, nor pre-experience with other cognitive tests affected individual performance. Species differed in motor response inhibition: Blue-tongue skinks made fewer contacts with the semi-transparent cylinder wall than all other species. Blue-tongue skinks also had lower body condition than the other species which suggest motivation as the underlying cause for species differences in task performance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Male Reproductive Cycle of the Eastern Blue-Tongued Lizard Tiliqua Scincoides Scincoides (Squamata: Scincidae)
    The male reproductive cycle of the Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard Tiliqua scincoides scincoides (Squamata: Scincidae) Glenn M. Shea Department of Veterinary Anatomy, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006 ABSTRACT The male reproductive cycle of Tiliqua scincoides scincoides is described on the basis of variation in testis dimensions and testicular and epididymal histology of museum specimens. Sexual maturity occurs at smaller body sizes in southern Australia than in Queensland. Spermatogenesis commences in early autumn, spermiogenesis peaks in early spring, and a resting period occurs in summer. Spermiogenesis in northern populations may peak a few weeks earlier than in southern populations. The pattern of variation in testis size closely parallels the histological changes, suggesting that testis Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/rrimo/book/chapter-pdf/2644412/rzsnsw_1993_063.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 size may be used as an indicator of spermatogenesis in Tiliqua. INTRODUCTION or a combination of these criteria (Barwick 1959, 1965; Towns 1975; Robertson 1981; Vitt The reproductive cycles of skinks have and Blackburn 1983). The majority of authors received much attention in recent decades, using gross linear or volumetric data to define revealing a wide variety of reproductive reproductive cycles have assumed that changes strategies in this speciose family (Shine 1985; in testis size are strongly correlated with sperm Heatwole and Taylor 1987). By far the greater production, using as justification correlations mass of data is on female reproduction, with in distantly related taxa. However, Barwick an abundance of anecdotal and single records (1965) found that in the skink Egernia cunning- of gravid females. Even Fitch (1970), in his hami, mean testis length varied only slightly on landmark review of the reproductive cycles a seasonal basis, while testis volume and mass in squamates, concentrated on female repro- varied markedly in association with successive duction, assuming (p.6) "when fecund females stages of sperm production.
    [Show full text]
  • Motor Self-Regulation in the Egernia Group
    Macquarie University Department of Biological Sciences The Lizard Lab BACHELOR THESIS To Go, or Not to Go, That Is the Question: Motor self-regulation in the Egernia group submitted by Sebastian Höfer Student Number: 4972165 [email protected] 1st Reviewer: Prof. Martin J. Whiting Ph.D. 2nd Reviewer: Prof. Constance Scharff Ph.D. Berlin, 19th July 2018 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 2 Material and Methods ................................................................................... 8 Study Animals ............................................................................................................... 8 Cylinder Task ............................................................................................................... 12 Habituation ....................................................................................................................... 12 Pre-training ....................................................................................................................... 12 Setup ................................................................................................................................. 13 Experimental Procedure .................................................................................................... 14 Response Inhibition Phase 1 (opaque cylinder)
    [Show full text]
  • NSW REPTILE KEEPERS' LICENCE Species Lists 1006
    NSW REPTILE KEEPERS’ LICENCE SPECIES LISTS (2006) The taxonomy in this list follows that used in Wilson, S. and Swan, G. A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Reed 2003. Common names generally follow the same text, when common names were used, or have otherwise been lifted from other publications. As well as reading this species list, you will also need to read the “NSW Reptile Keepers’ Licence Information Sheet 2006.” That document has important information about the different types of reptile keeper licenses. It also lists the criteria you need to demonstrate before applying to upgrade to a higher class of licence. THESE REPTILES CAN ONLY BE HELD UNDER A REPTILE KEEPERS’ LICENCE OF CLASS 1 OR HIGHER Code Scientific Name Common Name Code Scientific Name Common Name Turtles Monitors E2018 Chelodina canni Cann’s Snake-necked Turtle G2263 Varanus acanthurus Spiney-tailed Monitor C2017 Chelodina longicollis Snake-necked Turtle Q2268 Varanus gilleni Pygmy Mulga Monitor G2019 Chelodina oblonga Oblong Turtle G2271 Varanus gouldii Sand Monitor Y2028 Elseya dentata Northern Snapping Turtle M2282 Varanus tristis Black-Headed Monitor K2029 Elseya latisternum Saw-shelled Turtle Y2776 Elusor macrurus Mary River Turtle E2034 Emydura macquarii Murray Short-necked Turtle Skinks T2031 Emydura macquarii dharra Macleay River Turtle A2464 Acritoscincus platynotum Red-throated Skink T2039 Emydura macquarii dharuk Sydney Basin Turtle W2331 Cryptoblepharus virgatus Cream-striped Wall Skink T2002 Emydura macquarii emmotti Emmott’s Short-necked Turtle W2375
    [Show full text]
  • Ecology, Life-History, and Behavior in the Australian Scincid Genus Egernia, with Comments on the Evolution of Complex Sociality in Lizards
    Herpetological Monographs, 17, 2003, 145–180 Ó 2003 by The Herpetologists’ League, Inc. ECOLOGY, LIFE-HISTORY, AND BEHAVIOR IN THE AUSTRALIAN SCINCID GENUS EGERNIA, WITH COMMENTS ON THE EVOLUTION OF COMPLEX SOCIALITY IN LIZARDS 1 DAVID G. CHAPPLE School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia ABSTRACT: Squamate reptiles generally have been ignored in the search for a unified theory for the evolution of sociality due to the perception that they exhibit little social behavior beyond territoriality and dominance hierarchies and display polygynous mating systems. However a growing body of research has revealed unsuspected levels of social complexity and diversity in mating systems within the squamate lineage, particularly among the members of the Australian Scincid genus Egernia. Several species of Egernia are amongst the most highly social of all squamate reptiles, exhibiting stable social aggregations and high levels of long-term social and genetic monogamy. Social complexity is widespread within the Egernia genus, with reports of social aggregations in 23 of the 30 described species. The purpose of this review was to examine the potential for the Egernia genus as a model system for study of the evolution of sociality and monogamy within squamate reptiles. Current evidence indicates there is substantial variability in social complexity both within and between species, with social organization covering the spectrum from solitary to highly social. Four highly social Egernia species are known to live in stable social aggregations consisting of closely related individuals (adults, subadults, juveniles; i.e., ‘family’ groups) that appear to utilize chemical cues to recognize group members (kin recognition).
    [Show full text]
  • Group-Living in the Australian Skink, Egernia Stokesii
    Group-living in the Australian skink, Egernia stokesii. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Elvira Jane Lanham Bachelor ofEnvironmental Science (Hons) (University of Wollongong) School of Biological Sciences Flinders University of South Australia May, 2001. For Dion, wish you were here. II Author's Declaration I certify that this thesis does not incorporate, without acknowledgment, any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Elvira Jane Lanham. May, 2001. l 11 Abstract. Until recently, reptiles have been thought to exhibit little more than rudimentary sociality. Males of most species studied so far are either solitary or defend territories, containing one or more females. Some species have developed complex visual displays to maintain their territory and tolerance of other males is limited to non breeding juveniles. Much of the ideas about lizard social behaviour have come from the study of visually-orientated species such as the iguanids and agamids. Little is known about the more fossorial species, but astheir behaviour receives more attention there appears to be more diversity among these taxa than first thought. Egernia stokesii displays unusually stable, long-term group fidelity, with gi:oups in one well studied population ranging from 2-17 individuals (Duffield and Bull, 2001 ). Group members share the same home range and overnighting refuges and can stay together for at least five years. Individuals within these groups spend significantly more time interacting with one another than with lizards from neighbouring groups and they are significantly more related to each other than to the rest of the population.
    [Show full text]