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Project Noah Nature School
Tiliqua scincoides scincoides
The Eastern Blue Tongue is silvery grey with broad dark brown oe blackish bands across the back and tail. On the coast they usually have a black stripe between the eye and the ear which may extend along the neck. It can grow to almost 600mm in total length, the belly is usually pale with darker variegations. The eye is small and reddish brown to grey. The tongue is dark blue and the lining of the mouth is bright pink.They have a long body, large head and short legs and toes. The tail is shorter than the body and generally tapers to a point. The Blue tongue is a member of the skink family ( Scincidae ). Skinks have overlapping scales that are usually smooth and contain small plates of bone. There are more than 300 pecies of skink in Australia.
Adult blue tongues adapt well to suburbs where there are large backyards with plenty of shelter. A blue tongue in your garden will keep down thw number of snail and plant eating insects.
We have always had Blue Tongue Lizards in our yard. They are a welcome addition to the property.
Spotted on Mar 20, 2013
Submitted on Mar 20, 2013
10 Comments
They usually are in backyards so may be hard if we are out in the bush most of the time while we are up there. We will try hard Alice.
You're right about the snakeyness Kerry.
I've lived here for about 14 years and i've only ever seen him about twice so you'll have to look very hard! Although there is a lot of other wildlife to see here too! I didn't notice that about the head but now that you mention it i can see the difference.
Sure is Bernadette. Thanks
Great spotting! How neat to have these helpers around.
Wow! They are different. My Husbands family came from Murwillumbah, they would probablt remember this pink tongue. I can't say I've seen one, will look harder next time we are up there. The head looks more snakey too.
Great spotting Kerry! I wish i had more of these & less pink tongues to be honest, the pinks are far more aggressive for some reason. But i never really realised how different their markings are until i compared them! Have a look http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/195...
Yep - they're really good hissers :-)
Can give you a fright every now and then but mostly just hang around.
I love these guys! My Mum has them too Kerry. They're beautiful & keep the snails down too!