Eulamprus tympanum
1 Southern Water Skink at Cotter River, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Eulamprus tympanum | WillO | 15 Oct 2020 | |
| Eulamprus tympanum | Tapirlord | 15 Oct 2020 | |
| Eulamprus tympanum | BrianLR | 15 Oct 2020 |
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User's notes
juvenile, dark back, short face, limited white under throat.
interesting this species was living sympatric to E. heatwolei. would be interested in others opinions.
2 comments
15 Oct 2020
Quite dark colouration on this animal, but I agree with your suggestion of E. tympanum. The Brown side colouration on the sides is telling, as E.heatwoli sighting typically have paler sides, which are not present on this animal. I cannot see the underbelly cleary on this, however, which would the easiest way to identify this sighting. Nice photo :).
15 Oct 2020
These two species are very hard to ID. The identification by Brian is correct. The colour of the laterals doesn't really help. Both have very similar side patterns. The two main features are: Eulamprus tympanum - it lacks the pale mark along the dorso-lateral area from above the eye to above forelimb that E. heatwolei has. Eulamprus tympanum usually has a pale front edge to the ear opening. Subjectively I have found that E. tympanum always seems to have a rounder head profile (boof head) compared to E. heatwolei with its slightly flattened look to the head.
Good that you noted sympatric occurrence. I have seen them together (within metres) a handful of times over the years - tympanum in the bog/wet heath and heatwolei occurring right at the edge of bog/wet heath in drier forest usually sitting on large logs. That is why such care is needed in identifying them.
Good that you noted sympatric occurrence. I have seen them together (within metres) a handful of times over the years - tympanum in the bog/wet heath and heatwolei occurring right at the edge of bog/wet heath in drier forest usually sitting on large logs. That is why such care is needed in identifying them.
Location information
- Coordinates 148.909404-35.524399
- Maps Namadgi National Park
- Places Cotter River, ACT
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 11 Oct 2020 11:16 AM Recorded on
- BrianLR Recorded by
Collections
Species information
- Eulamprus tympanum Scientific name
- Southern Water Skink Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1897.44m Recorded at altitude
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Synonyms
Eulamprus tympanum tympanum
Record quality
Quality score
3 / 7
- Images or audio
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- More than one media file
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes