Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832) is a animal in the Scincidae family, order null, kingdom Animalia. Not known to be toxic.

Photo of Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832) (Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832))
🦋 Animalia

Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832)

Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832)

Egernia cunninghami, or Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink, is a variable-colored viviparous skink that lives communally in Australian rocky crevices and logs.

Family
Genus
Egernia
Order
Class
Squamata

About Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832)

Egernia cunninghami, also known as Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink, can grow up to 40 cm (16 inches) in total length, including the tail. This species can easily be confused with blue-tongued lizards of the genus Tiliqua, but it has a distinctive keel on every individual scale that gives it a slightly spiny overall appearance. Its coloration is extremely variable, ranging from dark brown to black, and it may or may not have blotchy patches, speckles, or narrow bands. For its habitat, Egernia cunninghami prefers to live communally in the crevices of rocky outcrops or inside hollow logs. Similar to some other reptile species, Egernia cunninghami is viviparous, and each birth litter contains six or more live young.

Photo: (c) Reiner Richter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Reiner Richter · cc-by-nc

Taxonomy

Animalia Chordata Squamata Scincidae Egernia

More from Scincidae

Sources: GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, NCBI Taxonomy · Disclaimer

Identify Egernia cunninghami (Gray, 1832) instantly — even offline

iNature uses on-device AI to identify plants, animals, fungi and more. No internet needed.

Download iNature — Free

Start Exploring Nature Today

Download iNature for free. 10 identifications on us. No account needed. No credit card required.

Download Free on App Store