Two
new lizard species discovered in the Townsville area of Queensland
December 2012. The Elegant Rainbow Skink and the Orange-flanked Rainbow Skink
were originally thought to be members of the Open-litter Rainbow Skink species,
but detailed work has revealed that they are separate species.
Dr
Conrad Hoskin from JCU's School of Marine and Tropical Biology, and Patrick
Couper from the Queensland Museum discovered the two new species. "Both
species are small skinks belonging to the genus Carlia, a diverse group of
skinks in tropical Australia," Dr Hoskin said.
"The
species names (the Elegant Rainbow Skink - Carlia decora - and the
Orange-flanked Rainbow Skink - Carlia rubigo - are in reference to
the bright colours sported by breeding males of each species; ‘decora' means
‘beautiful' in Latin, with males of that species marked with vivid orange and
blue, while ‘rubigo' translates to ‘rust', referring to the rusty orange colour
of males of that species."
Dr
Hoskin said the Elegant Rainbow Skink was found in forests in the Townsville
and Mackay areas.
"It is one of the most common skinks in Townsville gardens and would be familiar to many Townsville residents as the small skink that scurries away into the garden bed. However, the Orange-flanked Rainbow Skink is found in drier areas of eastern and Central Queensland, preferring open forests and rocky areas. It is not found right in Townsville but lives on the rocky ranges around Townsville like Magnetic Island, Cape Cleveland and Herveys Range. The best place to see it around Townsville is Magnetic Island, where it is the most common lizard."
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