Broad-banded sand swimmer (Eremiascincus richardsonii)
An aggressive, nocturnal desert hunter. Can escape predators in an instant by burrowing into sand with a wriggling, snake-like motion.
Size: Up to 30 cm Food: Moths, termites, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders and occasionally small lizards
Three-toed skink (Saiphos equlalis)
Sometimes mistaken for a snake, as it has very small legs, the three-toed skink may be found munching on crawling insects and worms in garden compost heaps.
Size: Up to 20 cm Food: Crawling insects, centipedes, larvae and worms
Lined fire-tailed skink (Morethia ruficauda)
This little lizard is thought to wave its fiery tail to communicate.
Size: Up to 9 cm Food: Spiders, ants, moths and beetles
Garden skink (Lampropholis guichenoti)
The coppery garden skink can be found basking and foraging among the leaf litter of suburban gardens. Large groups of more than 18 lizards may latch onto each other during spring mating season in flamboyant territorial displays.
Size: Up to 10 cm Food: Flies, ants, moths and worms
Blotched bluetongue lizard (Tiliqua nigrolutea)
Australia is host to six species of bluetongue. The blotched bluetongue can often be seen basking on rocks and roads in southeastern Australia.
Size: Up to 40 cm Food: Insects, snails, slugs, worms, spiders, mice, fungi, flowers and fruit
Lancelin Island skink (Egernia major)
Known only to inhabit Lancelin Island, a 7.6 ha nature reserve 115 km north of Perth. Populations of this rare skink are threatened due to the invasion of its habitat by exotic weeds and disturbance by humans.
Size: Up to 8 cm Food: Insects and larvae
Land mullet (Egernia major)
Powerfully built with a fish-like head and body, the land mullet is Australia’s largest skink. Foraging for plant material such as fungi and fruit on the rainforest floor, this giant can live up to 23 years.
Size: Up to 70 cm Food: Fungi, fallen fruit, snails, slugs and insects
Pygmy spiny-tailed skink (Egernia depressa)
A prickly, desert-dwelling lizard that lives in small family groups in tree hollows, rock crevices and termite mounds. Evades predators by inflating its body with air to jam itself in wood or rock cracks.
Size: Up to 16 cm Food: Primarily insects and some flowers, fruit, soft leaves and shoots
Home Topics Wildlife Gallery: Aussie skinks
For the first time in more than 40 years, the distinctive booming call of the endangered Australasian bittern once again rings out across the waters of Tasmania’s Lagoon of Islands.
Eight captive-bred eastern bristlebirds (Dasyornis brachypterus) were recently released into the Border Ranges region of north-eastern New South Wales where they're considered a critically endangered species.
A New South Wales-first oxygenation trial aims to address dissolved oxygen levels in the Darling River that have contributed to large-scale fish deaths in recent years.
Our much loved calendars and diaries are now available for 2024. Adorn your walls with beautiful artworks year round. Order today.
From cuddly companions to realistic native Australian wildlife, the range also includes puppets that move and feel like real animals.