White's Skink at Mount Clear, ACT
Identification history
| Liopholis whitii | 14 Dec 2016 | GeoffRobertson | ||
| Liopholis whitii | 14 Dec 2016 | GeoffRobertson | ||
| Unidentified | 7 Jan 2016 | SuziBond |
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Significant sighting
GeoffRobertson noted:
8 Jan 2016
Exciting observation. Tan-backed skink was only described in 2002. This may be the first record outside Kosciuszko National Park and the first in the ACT.
8 comments
wombey
wrote:
12 Dec 2016
Geoff, why are we calling these montana. All populations outside Tasmania can have unmarked dorsal patterns and even in this animal I can see a faint vertical mark about the forelimb, albeit a little less convincing than the others I have highlighted. I stand corrected but I think at least three of these are whitii.
GeoffRobertson
wrote:
12 Dec 2016
John, I came across L montana in a Reptiles of NSW book which I cannot put my hands on right now. (Books constantly move here.) I notice that Wilson and Gerry Swan (2003) do not have L montana and talk about two forms of L whitii. Do you agree that L montana is a separate species, or just a form of L whitii. If yes, how do you tell them apart?
wombey
wrote:
13 Dec 2016
Although I am not familiar with them in the field, according to the literature, whitii always has that vertical white bar or spots surrounded by black above the forearm, this is considered diagnostic. The colour pattern on the back of whitii can be marked or plain in all populations except in Tasmania. Of the four montana listed here so far all but one fits this description. The only proper montana has nothing like it above the forearm and can be clearly seen in the one submitted, and on the image in Wilson and Swan, 2010 page 307, third Ed. Unless someone can convince me otherwise, the other three should be changed to whitii!
GeoffRobertson
wrote:
14 Dec 2016
John, I am happy to make the changes that you suggest. I suggest the following change to the description of White's Skink.
White’s Skink is the most common species throughout the region while the Snowy Mountains and Tan-back Skink very restricted in to small isolated populations. White’s Skink is a somewhat variable species and is sometimes referred to as a White’s Skink complex; suggesting that more research is required into its taxonomy. White’s Skink has two distinct forms, both have striped backs but one has yellow markings along the other stripes (as does the Snowy Mountains Skink) and the other does not have these yellow markings. Interestingly, White’s Skink in Tasmania does not the form with the yellowing markings on its back. According to the literature, White’s Skink always has that vertical white bar or spots surrounded by black above the forearm; this is considered diagnostic. Neither of the other species have this feature.
White’s Skink is the most common species throughout the region while the Snowy Mountains and Tan-back Skink very restricted in to small isolated populations. White’s Skink is a somewhat variable species and is sometimes referred to as a White’s Skink complex; suggesting that more research is required into its taxonomy. White’s Skink has two distinct forms, both have striped backs but one has yellow markings along the other stripes (as does the Snowy Mountains Skink) and the other does not have these yellow markings. Interestingly, White’s Skink in Tasmania does not the form with the yellowing markings on its back. According to the literature, White’s Skink always has that vertical white bar or spots surrounded by black above the forearm; this is considered diagnostic. Neither of the other species have this feature.
wombey
wrote:
14 Dec 2016
That sounds ok. If you make the changes to the three whitii now listed as montana I concure.
GeoffRobertson
wrote:
16 Dec 2016
John, I have made the necessary changes. Thanks for clarifying this. It isn great that we are improving this as we go.
wombey
wrote:
17 Dec 2016
Yes, sorry it took so long for me to pick up on this, but all good now. We should be on top of this from now on.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.010125-35.867024
- Maps Namadgi National Park
- Places Mount Clear, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 - 3 Abundance
- 10 Nov 2015 12:00 AM Recorded on
- SuziBond Recorded by
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Collections
Significant sightings Reptiles and Frogs Skinks SuziBond
Species information
- Liopholis whitii Scientific name
- White's Skink Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1468.5m Recorded at altitude
- 85 images trained Machine learning
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
