Round island ground skink, Round island skink, Telfair's skink
Leiolopisma telfairii, also known commonly as the Round Island ground skink, the Round Island skink, and Telfair's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Round Island, one of the islands of Mauritius.
L. telfairii is named after Irish botanist Charles Telfair, the founder of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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starts withL. telfairii reaches a total length (including tail) of between 30–40 cm (12–16 in). The body is general brownish grey mottled with dark brown spots. The small scales exhibit an iridescence when the sunlight is reflected on them. The body is approximately cylindrical. L. telfairii can cast its relatively long tail during a fight or to escape capture; the tail is regenerated after a while. The short but vigorous legs are used to dig burrows.
The omnivorous diet of L. telfairii consists of seeds, fruits, insects, and small lizards. Cannibalism is not unknown, and L. telfairii may even kill its own young to eat them.
L. telfairii was once numerous on Mauritius and offshore islands like Flat Island. Due to habitat destruction and introduced species like goats, black rats, and rabbits, it has been limited to Round Island since the middle of the 19th century. When Gerald Durrell visited Round Island in the 1970s he recorded 5,000 specimens. He brought some specimens to the Jersey Zoo to build up a captive breeding program. Since the eradication of the goats and rabbits on Round Island the skink population has increased to the point that some could be relocated to other islands, like Gunner's Quoin (Coin du Mire) and the Île aux Aigrettes.
