The southwestern cool-skink (''Acritoscincus trilineatus'') is a species of

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

Taxonomy

The species was described in 1838 by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

, based on a specimen held at the

British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

, the author assigning it to the genus '' Tiliqua''. Common names for the species include western three-lined skink, New Holland skink and southwestern cool-skink, a name that refers to the cooler climates of its southern distribution range.

Description

A species of ''

Acritoscincus ''Acritoscincus'' is a genus of Australian skinks (family Scincidae). It belongs to the ''Eugongylus'' group; the genus ''Oligosoma ''Oligosoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized skinks (family Scincidae) found only in New Zealand, Norf ...

'' found in the

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Au ...

region and an isolated population in South Australia. Their body is moderately stocky in form, with smooth scales, functional and strong limbs that each have five digits. Their total length, from head to tail, is around 190 millimetres, the snout to vent length is 70 mm. Both the sexes have a red patch at their throat which varies in its intensity of colour, becoming more noticeable during the breeding season. The coloration of ''A. trilineatus'' resembles the species ''

Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii ''Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii'', also known commonly as Entrecasteaux's skink, the southern grass skink, the tussock cool-skink, and the tussock skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Geograp ...

'', the southern grass-skink, which occurs in a similar distribution range.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in damp and cool habitat, such as wetlands, and often basking in a sunny position in the early part of the day. The habitat also includes areas that are seasonally wet, but always with at least some remaining native vegetation. The foraging activity, during which they seek small insect prey, is all undertaken during the day; their activities switches from feeding to basking in response to the weather conditions. The distribution range extends from

Israelite Bay Israelite Bay is a bay and locality of the Shire of Esperance in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located along the Southern Ocean. Except for a small strip in the north-west of the locality, Israelite Bay is completely take ...

to Gingin in the southwest of Australia, and at the off-shore island of

Rottnest Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class reserve, the ...

. The occurrence in South Australia is at a much smaller range in an area near the tip of the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

. It is regarded as common throughout it range, and frequently observed in surveys of reptilian fauna. The IUCN ''Red List'' published an assessment in 2017 of least concern.

References

* * * * * Maryan, B., Ford, S., Shea, G. & Gaikhorst, G. 2017.
Acritoscincus trilineatus
'. The

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...

2017: e.T178407A101752743. Downloaded on 22 July 2019. {{Taxonbar, from=Q28923867 Skinks of Australia Species described in 1838 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Reptiles of Western Australia Reptiles of South Australia Acritoscincus