| Delicate Skink or Garden Skink |
|
|---|---|
| Lampropholis delicata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Lampropholis |
| Species: | L. delicata |
| Binomial name | |
| Lampropholis delicata (De Vis, 1888) |
|
The Delicate Skink,[1] Dark-flecked Garden Sun Skink[2] or Garden Skink (Lampropholis delicata) is a skink of the subfamily Lygosominae, originally from Eastern Australia. In its native range and in New Zealand it is also known as the Rainbow Skink, which elsewhere usually refers to the African Trachylepis margaritifera, also a member of the Lygosominae.
It was accidentally introduced to New Zealand in the early 1960s, where it is the only introduced reptile to have successfully established a wild population. It is found in several parts of the North Island, and occupies similar habitats to the native copper skink (Cyclodina aenea).[3]
It has also become naturalised in Hawaii, where it is reportedly now the most numerous skink, and on Lord Howe Island.[4]
The delicate skink is more common in suburban gardens than in adjacent native bushland. It has a moderate body with a medium length, slender tail. Its scales are smooth. The back and sides are greyish-brown to rich brown, often with darker and paler flecks. A narrow yellowish-brown stripe is usually present on the outer edge of the back.