Blue-tongued skink

"Blue tongue lizard" redirects here. For the Australian Aboriginal myth, see Bluetongue Lizard.

Blue-tongued skinks
Blotched blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua nigrolutea)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Subfamily: Egerniinae
Genus: Tiliqua
Gray, 1825[1]
Species

8 extant, see text.

Synonyms

Trachydosaurus

Blue-tongued skinks[2] comprise the Australasian genus Tiliqua, which contains some of the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). They are commonly called blue-tongued lizards or simply blue-tongues or blueys in Australia or panana in Indonesia. As suggested by these common names, a prominent characteristic of the genus is a large blue tongue that can be bared as bluff-warning to potential enemies.[3] The type of predator/threat that is near will determine the intensity of colour present in the tongue. The tongue can also deform itself and produce a thick mucus in order to catch prey.[4] They are relatively shy in comparison with other lizards, and also significantly slower due to their shorter legs.

  1. ^ 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. p. 201
  2. ^ Tiliqua, Reptile Database
  3. ^ Abramjan, Andran (2015). "Why is the tongue of blue-tongued skinks blue? reflectance of lingual surface and its consequences for visual perception by conspecifics and Predators". The Science of Nature. 102 (7–8): 42. Bibcode:2015SciNa.102...42A. doi:10.1007/s00114-015-1293-4. PMID 26185113. S2CID 16915899.
  4. ^ Tamara L. Smith; Kenneth V. Kardong; Vincent L. Bels (1999). "Prey Capture Behavior in the Blue-tongued Skink, Tiliqua scincoides" (PDF). Journal of Herpetology. 33 (3): 362–369. doi:10.2307/1565632. JSTOR 1565632. Retrieved 24 May 2022.