Bougainville’s Skink

Welcome to the next episode of “They’re not all the same skink!”.

After we decided to document as many species as possible from Raakajlim and submit them to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, we discovered there are six skinks in the Mallee which look roughly the same. But when we started looking more closely … we discovered the Ragged Snake-eyed Skink because it had something going on with its eyes … and now look …

Bougainville’s Skink showing its pointed head, thick black lateral stripe and four lines of black dashes along its back.

We have Bougainville’s Skink (Lerista bougainvillii) in our vegie patch. I occasionally unearth them whilst digging. My first thought was “This skink must be wet, it’s so shiny” (then I remembered I live in the Mallee - nothing is ever wet). So I got out the books …

• Smooth, glossy scales - Yep, that explains the “wet” look.

• Broad, black, lateral stripe (obvious) and four lines of dark dashes on its back - Hmmm, yeah I can just see those.

• Four, short widely spaced limbs with five digits - That’s normal legs then? Check.

• Pointed head with tiny ear opening - Yeah, it does now that I zoom in on the photo.

• Tail flushed with yellow or red - Yes! Kind of a weird chunky tail. (Books say it stores fat in its tail - cool).

See the tiny ear opening

Long body, chunky tail flushed with red.

Bougainville’s Skink is not considered threatened and is widespread in the Mallee. It burrows just under the soil surface, and that’s where I found this one - swimming through the sand.

I keep getting Bougainville’s Skink mixed up with Boulenger’s Skink (Morethia boulengeri) because the names are so similar. Boulenger’s Skink is the super-common one, often found in disturbed habitats.

First published September 15, 2020. Updated 2021.

Boulenger’s Skink - the really common one