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Tiliqua scincoides (WHITE, 1790)

IUCN Red List - Tiliqua scincoides - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaScincidae, Egerniinae (Tiliquini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesTiliqua scincoides scincoides (WHITE 1790)
Tiliqua scincoides intermedia MITCHELL 1955
Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea SHEA 2000 
Common NamesE: Common Bluetongue, Eastern Bluetongue, Northern Bluetongue, Eastern Blue-Tongued Lizard 
SynonymLacerta scincoides WHITE 1790: 242
Lacerta scincoides — SHAW & NODDER 1794: plate 179
Scincus crotaphomelas LACÉPÈDE 1804: 209
Scincus tuberculatus MERREM 1820: 73
Tiliqua tuberculatus — GRAY 1825: 201
Tiliqua whitii GRAY 1831: 67 (non Scincus whitii LACÉPÈDE 1804)
Tiliqua vanicoriensis GRAY 1839 (nomen nudum)
Cyclodus boddaertii DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 752 (part.)
Tiliqua scincoides — ANDERSON 1916: 12
Tiliqua scincoides — SMITH 1937: 233
Tiliqua scincoides intermedia MITCHELL 1955
Tiliqua scincoides — COGGER 1983: 191
Tiliqua scincoides — COGGER 2000: 580
Tiliqua scincoides scincoides — NOËL 2009

Tiliqua scincoides intermedia MITCHELL 1955: 393
Tiliqua scincoides intermedia — GLAUERT 1960: 68
Tiliqua scincoides intermedia — BELL 2005
Tiliqua scincoides intermedia — REISINGER 2014
Tiliqua scincoides intermedia — SPACZEK 2025

Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea SHEA 2000
Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea — KUPERUS & ZWARTEPOORTE 2007 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, SE South Australia, Victoria, NW Western Australia)

scincoides: S/E Australia

intermedia: N Australia

chimaerea: Indonesia (Maluku Province: Tanimbar, Babar Islands); Type locality: Samlaki, Tanimbar Islands.

Type locality: Australia [Lacerta scincoides, Scincus tuberculatus]  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesSyntypes: BMNH 1946.8.21.94, second syntype presumed lost.
Syntypes: MNHP 3025, for extralimital syntype, Java) see Guibé (1954) [Cyclodus boddaertii].
Holotype: SAMA R3095, from Yirrkala (as Yirrkalla), N. T. [intermedia]
Holotype: RMNH 5198a (the only one of five specimens under that number with a complete tail), paratypes: RMNH.RENA.7229 [chimaerea] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 30 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983. Merrem's original description is ambiguous in that the name tuberculatus could be interpreted as a substitute name for Lacerta scincoides White, 1790 (fide COGGER 1983).

Names of uncertain identity within Tiliqua: Tiliqua Ascensionis GRAY 1839: 290 (uncertain fide Shea 2021).

Distribution: see Shea 2000: 158 for maps of all 3 subspecies.

Type species: Lacerta scincoides WHITE 1790: 242 (SHAW 1790 fide SHEA 1990: 509) is the type species of the genus Tiliqua GRAY 1825: 201.

Morphology: Greer 1986 investigated the relative length of the anterior medial groove of the frontal bone in species of Egernia and Tiliqua as as a diagnostic character for being a member of Lygosominae vs. Scincinae.

Phylogenetics of Tiliquini: Brennan et al. 2024.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin Scincus (a north African skink, one of the first to be given a binomial name) plus the suffix -oides (similarity). This was one of the first skink species to be described, at a time when most skinks were compared to Linnaeus' Lacerta scincus. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The origin of the genus name Tiliqua is unknown. Probably one of the many generic names he coined that were euphonious but lacked any meaning. Derivation not stated by Gray (1825). 
References
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