EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Shingleback on the Crawl

Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa), Family Scincidae
South Australia, Australia

Explanation:  En route from Adelaide, South Australia, down to Portland, New South Wales, in southern coastal Australia, we took a few turns in some local coastal hills, and came upon this most unique reptile crawling up a roadbank:  a shingleback.  

Shinglebacks are member of the skink family, but are oh so different.  Their tail is thick and stubby, resembling a head, perhaps to thwart or confuse predators.  Their scales are large and very rough, again perhaps as a deterrent to predators.  And their tongues are blue, which they display in aposematic behavior when threatened by a predator, as a visual sign of something to beware.

All of these potential anti-predator features and behaviors may serve the shingleback well, as it is slow-moving and not apt to out-race an attack.  Their predators can include large snakes, raptors, and even cats and dogs.  

In all, the shingleback is one unique reptile of the arid countryside found widely across southern Australia!