About Morethia obscura Storr, 1972
Skinks are small reptiles in the family Scincidae, one of the most diverse known lizard families. Most skinks have relatively small legs out of proportion to their body size, lack a pronounced neck, and are bilaterally symmetrical. Morethia obscura, commonly called the shrubland Morethia skink, is often mistaken for the ragged snake eyed skink (C. pannosus). M. obscura is a small terrestrial lizard with an average adult body weight of approximately 1.9 grams. Its dorsal surface ranges from olive brown to olive gray. This species sometimes has a pale dorsolateral stripe and a broad, irregular black lateral stripe. Intact-tailed adults measure roughly 107 mm to 129 mm in total length, with a snout-vent length ranging from 18 mm to 56 mm. M. obscura has one pair of nuchals, which are plates that cover the dorsal portion of the neck. It has between one and four ear openings, a tympanic middle ear system, and an inner ear structure called an otolith that detects acceleration and acoustic sounds, with a hearing range of up to 40 dB. Mid-body scales are usually arranged in 26 to 28 rows. Lamellae, which are thin plates, under the fourth toe are smooth or keeled, and unicarinate. The shrubland Morethia skink occurs in woodlands, heaths, and shrublands, often associated with mallee and spinifex, in arid and semi-arid areas of southwest New South Wales, southern South Australia and some of its offshore islands, northwest Victoria, and southern Western Australia. It is abundant in open areas with little vegetation, such as forest edges. This allows the species to access food resources from within forests while still obtaining the ambient light and temperature levels it requires as a heliotherm. Studies have found M. obscura is less abundant, and almost non-existent, in heavily vegetated areas. The areas it inhabits generally receive less than 500 mm of rainfall per year. Because M. obscura is most abundant around the edges of forest fragments, it is less susceptible to harm from habitat degradation. M. obscura reproduces sexually through a dioecious sexual system, with distinct male and female individual organisms. It is an oviparous species, meaning it lays eggs. Clutch size generally ranges from 3 to 5 eggs. The breeding season starts between October and early November. Fertilized eggs are retained in the female's reproductive system until late January each year, when the eggs are laid with the embryo already in an advanced state of development.
