Great desert skink facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Great desert skink |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Liopholis
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| Species: |
kintorei
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| Synonyms | |
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The great desert skink (scientific name: Liopholis kintorei) is a special type of lizard called a skink. It's also known as Kintore's egernia. This amazing lizard lives only in the western parts of Australia. It's known for digging burrows and being very social, meaning it lives and works together with other skinks.
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Naming the Great Desert Skink
The scientific name for this skink, kintorei, was chosen to honor a person. It was named after Algernon Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore. He was a British politician who served as a governor in South Australia a long time ago.
What Does It Look Like?
The great desert skink is a medium-sized lizard. It usually grows to about 19 centimeters (or 7 inches) long, not counting its tail. Its body is covered in smooth, small, and shiny scales.
Most of its body is a rusty color, which helps it blend in with the desert sand. Its belly is a light, creamy vanilla color. This skink has fairly large round eyes and a short snout.
Where Do Great Desert Skinks Live?
As its name suggests, the great desert skink lives in desert areas. You can find it in the southwestern part of the Northern Territory in Australia. It also lives across most of Western Australia.
These skinks are excellent diggers. They build long burrows underground to live in. Some of their burrows can be as long as 12 meters (about 40 feet)! These large homes can have up to 20 different entrances, making it easy for them to come and go.
Amazing Skink Behavior
Scientists have recently learned some very interesting things about the great desert skink. Out of thousands of lizard species, this one shows truly "unique" behavior. Great desert skinks work together like a team.
They cooperate to build and take care of their burrows. They even dig special rooms inside their tunnels to use as a toilet area! This is very unusual for lizards.
Adult skinks do most of the hard digging work for the tunnels. Younger skinks help by making smaller "pop" holes that connect to the main burrow system.
Scientists have studied their family life. They found that adult skinks often stay with the same mate. However, about 40 percent of male skinks have been seen mating with other females too.
DNA tests have shown that young skinks live in the same burrow system with their brothers and sisters. This happens no matter how old they are. In one study, almost all young skinks in a burrow were full siblings. This means they shared both parents.
Researchers have confirmed that these lizards live in family groups. The young skinks stay in the tunnel system with their family until they are old enough to live on their own.
