Types of Blue-Tongued Skink

Blue-tongued skinks are a primarily Australian lizard raised as pets worldwide. The eponymous blue tongue is used to warn away predators, but it is primarily a bluffing tactic; skinks are quite harmless. Unusual among lizards, the skink gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Several species of blue-tongued skink exist, each with different physical characteristics.

  1. Tiliqua gigas

    • Known as the New Guinea or Indonesian blue-tongued skink, Tiliqua gigas gets its common name as a result of its unusual location. While all other species of blue-tongued skink occur on the continent of Australia, T. gigas is found instead on the neighboring Southeast Asian islands. The species has a grayish-brown coloration with bands of darker brown spaced irregularly across its body.

    Tiliqua mustifaciata

    • The centralian blue-tongued skink is a sandy-brown color with wide brown bands along the back and black markings behind the eyes. Growing only between 15 1/2 and 17 1/2 inches in length, Tiliqua multifaciata lives in both the deserts and tropical forests of Australia and subsists on a diverse diet of insects, small vertebrates and flowers.

    Tiliqua nigrolutea

    • Called the blotched blue-tongued skink for the dark patterning along its pale green body, Tiliqua nigrolutea relies on camouflage for protection in its native forest habitat. It reaches a length of 23 1/2 inches and is omnivorous, eating flowers and fruit in addition to small creatures. The blotched blue-tongued skink is capable of interbreeding with the subspecies of T. scincoides, and gives birth to between four and 10 young.

    Tiliqua occipitalis

    • The western blue-tongued skink has a shorter tail than many other species, growing only to 19 1/2 inches in length and is a pale gray color with wide blotchy bands and dark eye-markings. As its common name suggests, Tiliqua occipitalis prefers the dry climate of western Australia, where it hunts both slow-moving prey such as spiders and immobile prey such as berries.

    Tiliqua scincoides

    • Tiliqua scincoides has several subspecies, including the eastern, northern, and Tanimbar blue-tongued skinks. Though the subspecies have similarly striped markings, coloration varies from type to type. All, however, average a length of 23 1/2 inches and are typically omnivorous. T. scincoides lives natively in arid climates, but can also often be found on farmland and in suburban yards.