Southern water skink facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Southern water skink |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eulamprus
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| Species: |
tympanum
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| Synonyms | |
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Sphenomorphus tympanum |
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The southern water skink (Eulamprus tympanum) is a medium-sized lizard that lives only in Australia. It's also known as the cool-temperate water-skink, highland water skink, or Dreeite water skink. These skinks are found in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and on Tasmania's Rodondo Island. They give birth to live young, usually in the summer.
What Does It Look Like?
The southern water skink is a medium-sized lizard. It can grow to about 8.5 centimeters (3.3 inches) long from its nose to the base of its tail. Its head and body are mostly olive-brown with darker spots. The sides of its body are also olive-brown with light spots. This skink does not have any special marks under its chin or a light stripe on its cheeks.
Where Does It Live?
This skink lives naturally in southeastern Australia. You can find it in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, the eastern part of South Australia, and on Rodondo Island in Tasmania. It likes to live near fresh water, like small creeks. You can find these skinks from sea level all the way up to high mountains, like Mount Kosciuszko.
Life and Habits
The southern water skink usually lives near small creeks. It hunts for small creatures to eat. Its diet includes insects, worms, tadpoles, tiny frogs, and even other small skinks. After eating, the skink's body uses energy much faster. This helps it digest food and stay active, which is common for lizards that move around a lot to find their meals.
How They Reproduce
Southern water skinks give birth to live babies, usually in the middle or end of summer. This is different from many reptiles that lay eggs.
Amazingly, the mother skink can even choose if her babies will be male or female! She does this by changing how much time she spends warming up in the sun. If there aren't many adult male skinks around, she tends to have more male babies. But if there are lots of males, she'll have more female babies. Scientists are still learning exactly how she makes these choices.
