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Blotched bluetongue, (Tiliqua nigrolutea) Tasmania’s largest lizard.

White’s skink (Liopholus whitii) easily recognised by its pattern of spots and stripes. Photos by Sarah Lloyd OAM

Sarah Lloyd OAM

MANY ANIMALS, like many people, have favourite places to hang out. For instance, every time I visit Westbury Reserve on warm sunny days, I see two or three Tasmanian Tree Skinks (Carinascincus pretiosus) on a particular log not far from the entrance.

Much further on in the reserve, on the rocky slope above Brushy Rivulet, there’s a family of White’s skinks (Liopholus whitii), fast moving reptiles that dart to their burrows whenever they sense danger. I detected such a movement during a visit in early January, and when I returned several days later, a skink was resting in exactly the same place and obligingly allowed close observation.

Unlike the tree skinks on the log, which are often indistinguishable from other small skink species, White’s skink is one of our most recognisable reptiles. It is a medium sized lizard, boldly patterned with stripes and spots along the length of its stocky body. It lives for about 8–9 years, but it grows slowly and doesn’t attain its full snout-vent length of 80 mm until it’s about four years old.

White’s skinks are viviparous, i.e. they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs like some other reptiles. Their dual entrance burrows (for ventilation and escape) are large enough to accommodate the family group comprising a pair of adults plus 3 or 4 young. The latest offspring may stay close to their parents for up to a year.

White’s skinks feed on spiders, millipedes, ants and other insects and occasionally plant material. Interestingly, they are unusual among Tasmanian lizards in regularly defecating at the same place.

Another unmistakeable reptile spotted on a grassy north facing hillside at the reserve is the blotched bluetongue (Tiliqua nigrolutea), our largest lizard. Bluetongues are slow moving animals so they’re never far from a protective cover of dead or live vegetation. They tend to wander in search of just about anything. Their diet includes insects, slugs, snails, and plant material such as flowers, fungi and berries. (They have a penchant for strawberries in home gardens.)

Bluetongues can move surprisingly quickly if threatened, but they often stand their ground, inflating their bodies, and sticking out their blue tongues before exhaling with an audible hiss. They can bite but they don’t have venom and their conical teeth are more likely to bruise than cut. Bluetongues also give birth to live young, producing large litters of between 6 and 15 offspring at the end of summer.

Our most venomous reptile is the Tiger snake (Notechis scutatus), which is more likely to retreat than strike despite its fearsome reputation. It typically has a home range of several hectares with various retreat sites suitable for different conditions, e.g. low lying areas are abandoned if they’re inundated after rain. Tigers are also viviparous, a strategy that may have evolved to overcome the unpredictable nature of Tasmania’s summer. Internally developing eggs are more likely to survive a sudden cold snap, than eggs laid in the open.