Reptiles · Squamata · Scincidae

Common Bluetongue

Tiliqua scincoides

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The common bluetongue is a stout, short-legged lizard, very familiar in Australian gardens, with a deep blue tongue that it flashes at the slightest threat. It is live-bearing, omnivorous and surprisingly long-lived. It is also one of the best natural controllers of snails and slugs in the gardens where it lives.

Weight

300 g – 600 g

Size

40 cm – 60 cm

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestTemperate forestGrasslandOmnivore Diurnal Solitary Reptile Rainforest Temperate forest Grassland

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Fun facts

defensaThreatened, it opens its mouth and shows a deep blue tongue as a warning display to put an attacker off.
Its blue tongue is a warning signal: it flashes it out while gaping its pink mouth, and experiments have shown that the blue also reflects ultraviolet light, most strongly at the back of the tongue, which is the part it shows in the last instant before an attack.
It is live-bearing: it gives birth to as many as twenty fully formed, independent young, which disperse within a few hours with no parental care at all.
It is an ally of Australian gardeners: it eats snails and slugs in quantity, and for that reason metaldehyde baits are one of its main causes of death in suburban areas.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Open woodland, scrub, grassland and suburban gardens in Australia and Indonesia
Sexual maturity: 3 years
Gestation / incubation: 4 months of gestation
Litter / clutch size: 10

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiliqua_scincoides