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Striped Rainbow Skink

Carlia munda

Photo by Liana
Published on Project Noah
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-16.8, 122.66

Field Notes

Description:

Also known as Shaded-litter Rainbow-skink. This is the second Carlia munda for PN :) This beautiful little critter is brown with dark spots...[It has a] narrow, sharp-edged white midlateral stripe from upper lip to top of ear-opening, [disjunct behind the ear-opening] for varying distances. - "A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia". to my eyes, the most distinct feature about this little critter is the beautiful blue colour under the mouth which extends down to the start of its front legs.

Habitat:

Spotted around some raked up grass at Goombaragin on the Dampier Peninsula.

Notes:

The correct identification is attributed to the Kimberley Land Council's Biodiversity Officer.

Reference: "A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia", Steve Wilson and Gerry Swan, p176-177

Reference: http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Carlia%20munda

Reference Links:

Shaded-litter rainbow-skink (Carlia munda) at the Australian Reptile Online Dat…

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (11)
Liana
Update: the original identification for this little skink was incorrect. I was able to contact the Biodiversity Officer for the Kimberley Land Council - who specialises in reptiles - who pointed me in the right direction: Carlia Munda.
Liana
Cheers Ashley! Great minds think alike :D
AshleyT
Awesome! Glad you found it. And even cooler that is the ID we both had in common for our two guesses :)
Liana
According to "A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia", Steve Wilson and Gerry Swan, p180-181, and Atlas of Living Australia, the Red-sided Rainbow Skink: Carlia rufilatus is one of three members of Genus Carlia that is found on the Dampier Peninsula. It also fits the description that is written in the field guide. I am confident in identifying this as a Carlia rufilatus - first for PN :)
Liana
I had forgotten about it til you mentioned field guide! I will definitely let you know :)
AshleyT
Definitely check out the guide then! See what it says about identifying characters, but habitat can also be super helpful if they are specific in what they live in. And should have a pretty detailed range map. Let me know what you come up with!
Liana
True hey! I do have a field guide I can borrow from my partner's work so I will check it out...I haven't really found much information on the internet at all...probably why it's stuck at 3!!! ha ha
AshleyT
Well, at least we got it down to 3 species haha. No, I am not familiar with the genus at all, and seems each species is pretty variable. I'm sure there are some defining characters for each species, but I'm having trouble finding info on them. And sometimes the characters you need to see to tell them apart, you have to have the animal in hand for. If you can find a book field guide, it should tell you how to tell them apart. I hate trying to use the internet for stuff like this, field guides are way easier!
Liana
Oh dearr...I had come up with: Carlia gracilis Carlia rufilatus Reference: http://reptilesofaustralia.com/lizards/skinks/skinks.htm#.VhXdQ_mqqko Do you have any tips for further identification? This is difficult :)
AshleyT
I think either C. rufilatus or C. johnstonei
AshleyT
Genus Carlia, not sure which species

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Reptiles of the World
Mission
Biodiversity of The Kimberley
Mission
Mission WILD
Photographed
PublishedOctober 8, 2015

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