Southern Grass Skink

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Southern Grass Skink
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Pseudemoia
Species: P. entrecasteauxii
Binomial name
Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii
(Duméril and Bibron)
Distribution of the Southern Grass Skink
Synonyms

Leilopisma entrecasteauxii

The Southern Grass Skink (Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii) is a skink endemic to Australia, where it is found in the south-east of the continent, as well as in Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait. Although it occurs in a variety of habitats, it is most commonly found in open grassy woodlands.[1][2]

Southern Grass Skinks have a lifespan of about 5–6 years. They grow up to 7.5 centimeters (not including the tail). Male skinks change coloration during the breeding season.

Pregnancy

The Southern Grass skink has become a model species for reproductive biology in reptiles because it gives birth to live young and exhibits non-invasive epitheliochorial placentation. Unlike other live bearing reptiles, Pseudemoia develop complex placentae, which provide a substantial amount of nutrients to the embryo through pregnancy. [3] Lipid transport in this species most likely occurs through the yolk sac placenta and is facilitated in part by the production of the protein lipoprotein lipase. [4] The first observation of an extra-uterine pregnancy in a reptile was found in this species.[5] The extra-uterine embryo did not invade maternal tissue, suggesting fundamental differences between the nature and evolution of placentation in Southern Grass Skinks and eutherian mammals.

References

  1. ↑ DPIW: Native Plants and Animals – Southern Grass Skink
  2. ↑ Cogger, H.G. (1979). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed: Sydney. ISBN 0-589-50108-9
  3. ↑ Thompson, M. B., Stewart, J. R., Speake, B. K., Russell, K. J., McCartney, R. J., & Surai, P. F. (1999). Placental nutrition in a viviparous lizard (Pseudemoia pagenstecheri) with a complex placenta. Journal of Zoology, 248(3), 295-305.
  4. ↑ Griffith, O. W., Ujvari, B., Belov, K., & Thompson, M. B. (2013). Placental lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene expression in a placentotrophic lizard, Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution.Chicago
  5. ↑ Griffith, O.W., Van Dyke, J.U. and Thompson, M.B. (2013) No implantation in an extra-uterine pregnancy of a placentotrophic reptile. Placenta 34(6) 510-511.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2013.03.002


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