Grass skink, Guichenot's grass skink, Pale-flecked garden sunskink, Penny lizard
The Common garden skink (Lampropholis guichenoti) is a small species of lizard native to Australia. The part of its scientific name, guichenoti, is in honor of French zoologist Antoine Alphonse Guichenot.
The Common garden skink usually has a browny black colour and sometimes may appear a dark shade of red when bathing in the sun. The lighter their colour the more energetic they are. They have small sharp teeth that easily slice through smaller prey. Even wild individuals are very docile and rarely bite humans when touched or picked up. The female has a yellowish, almost orange tinge to her underside, however, the males have a light grey tinge to their underside. Females are often bigger than the males in size.
Common garden skinks are found in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Brisbane, but also are common across most of Southern Australia, Tasmania and some of New South Wales. They live in forests, moist woodlands, mountain heaths and are often seen in suburban gardens. Skinks enjoy large areas with a lot of leaves and soft soil. They are normally found around hot and dusty areas that have many trees and stumps.
Common garden skinks are solitary lizards that can be active both during the day and night. As with most reptiles, garden skinks are cold-blooded and may be seen on top of rocks or paths in the morning trying to warm their blood. Skinks are also often seen under leaves, in long grass, and under rocks so that they can watch their prey; they prefer hiding in logs where their larger predators cannot reach them. Garden skinks rely purely on the movement of their prey when hunting. When hunting, they will either hide and wait for prey to come by or actively pursue it (this depends on how hungry they are). Once they have caught their prey, they shake it around vigorously to kill it before swallowing it whole. Once they have had one meal, they begin to actively pursue prey for a short while with their newfound energy. Skinks only need one prey item per 4 or 5 days. Like many other skinks, their tail will drop if grasped roughly. The disconnected tail will twitch vigorously for a while, distracting the predator while the skink makes its escape. This survival tactic may seem hard for the skink to tolerate, but it is quite the opposite. Although it may cost the skink some energy, its tail will eventually grow back to normal. Common garden skinks are also capable swimmers; they have been known to dive under water to evade predators and remain submerged for several minutes until a threat has passed.
Common garden skinks are carnivores (insectivores). They feed on larger invertebrates, including crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs and caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, chaparras, ladybeetles, and many other small insects.
Common garden skinks are oviparous and lay small white eggs between summer and mid-autumn. Most eggs are around 10 mm. The female usually lays about 6 eggs, often in communal clutches that may contain as many as 250 eggs altogether, usually under a cluster of rocks to keep them safe from predators. The eggs normally hatch a few weeks after they are laid.
There are no major threats to this species at present.
According to IUCN, the Common garden skink is locally common and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Garden skinks feed on many insects and control their populations. This also makes them very helpful animals around the garden.
