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Carinascincus pretiosus (O'SHAUGHNESSY, 1874)

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Agile Cool-skink, Tasmanian Tree Skink 
SynonymMocoa pretiosa O'SHAUGHNESSY 1874: 298
Mocoa microlepidota O'SHAUGHNESSY 1874
Lygosoma (Leiolopisma) pretiosa — LUCAS & FROST 1894: 78
Lygosoma (Leiolopisma) — SMITH 1937: 225
Pseudemoia pretiosa — FRANK & RAMUS 1995
Leiolopisma pretiosum — GREER 1974
Leiolopisma pretiosum — COGGER 1983: 170
Carinascincus pretiosum — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 24
Leiolopisma pretiosa — GREER 1990
Niveoscincus pretiosus — HUTCHINSON et al. 1990
Niveoscincus pretiosus — MELVILLE & SWAIN 2000
Niveoscincus pretiosa — COGGER 2000: 568
Carinascincus pretiosus — GREER 2005 (online)
Carinascincus pretiosus — COUPER et al. 2006: 380
Niveoscincus pretiosus — WILSON & SWAN 2013
Carinascincus pretiosus — COGGER 2014: 430 
DistributionAustralia (Tasmania)

Type locality: Tasmania  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.8.16.54 (formerly 45.5.2.10) 
Diagnosis 
CommentHabitat: Arboreal, wet sclerophyll forest, elevation 20-1000 m. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin pretiosus (precious or valuable). The allusion is not clear, but possibly relates to the high number of body scales, a feature that O'Shaugnessy emphasises as diagnostic for the species. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Bretzel, Joachim 2023. Tasmanien im Herbst. Elaphe 2023 (3): 40-45
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Couper, P., Covacevich, J., Amey, A. & Baker, A. 2006. The genera of skinks (Family Scincidae) of Australia and its island territories: diversity, distribution and identification. in: Merrick, J.R., Archer, M., Hickey, G.M. & Lee, M.S.Y. (eds.). Evolution and Zoogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. Australian Scientific Publishing, Sydney, pp. 367-384
  • Greer,A.E. 1990. Overlap pattern in the preanal scale row: an important systematic character in skinks. Journal of Herpetology 24 (3): 328-330 - get paper here
  • Hutchinson M N; Donnellan S C; Baverstock P R; Krieg M; Simms S; Burgin S 1990. Immunological relationships and generic revision of the Australian lizards assigned to the genus Leiolopisma (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Australian Journal of Zoology 38 (5): 535-554 - get paper here
  • Hutchinson,M.D. & Schwaner,T.D. 1991. Genetic relationships among the Tasmanian scincid lizards of the genus Niveoscincus. Journal of Herpetology 25 (1): 49-58 - get paper here
  • Hutchinson,M.N.; Robertson,P. & Rawlinson,P.A. 1989. Redescription and ecology of the endemic Tasmanian scincid lizards Leiolopisma microlepidotum and L. pretiosum. Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasn. 123: 257-274 - get paper here
  • Lucas, A. H. S. & Frost, C. 1894. The lizards indigenous to Victoria. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. (ns) 6: 24-92 - get paper here
  • MAYNARD, DAVID. 2022. Aquatic escape response observed in the Tasmanian tree skink (Carinascincus pretiosus). The Tasmanian Naturalist 144: 1–6. - get paper here
  • Melville, Jane; Swain, Roy 2000. Evolutionary relationships between morphology, performance and habitat openness in the lizard genus Niveoscincus (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 70: 667–683. - get paper here
  • Melville,J. & SWAIN,R. 2000. Mitochondrial DNA-sequence based phylogeny and biogeography of the snow skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Niveoscincus) of Tasmania. Herpetologica 56 (2): 196-208 - get paper here
  • O’Shaughnessy,A.W.E. 1874. A description of a new species of Scincidae in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 13: 298-301 - get paper here
  • Rawlinson, P. A. 1974. Biogeography and ecology of the reptiles of Tasmania and the Bass Strait area. In: Williams, W. D. (ed.) Biogeography and Ecology in Tasmania,Chapt. 11. The Hague: Junk, pp. 291-338 - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1937. A review of the genus Lygosoma (Scincidae: Reptilia) and its allies. Records of the Indian Museum 39 (3): 213-234
  • Taylor, R. J.;Dudley, A.;Gale, P. G. 1993. Reptiles and amphibians in sclerophyll forest surrounding Old Chum Dam in north-eastern Tasmania. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 23 (1): 26-31
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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