Pink-Tongued Lizard

About the Pink-Tongued Lizard

The pink-tongued skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Australia, where it is also called commonly the pink-tongued lizard. As suggested by these common names, its distinguishing characteristic is a pink tongue as opposed to the blue tongue of lizards of the closely related genus Tiliqua.

The specific name, gerrardii, is in honor of British zoologist Edward Gerrard (1810–1910), who was Gray's "right-hand man" at the British Museum. C. gerrardii is endemic to Australia. It can be found from Springwood, New South Wales, along the eastern coastal country and eastern ranges to the Cairns Region, Queensland.

C. gerrardii is a relatively large lizard of up to 45 cm (18 in) total length (including tail). It has a slender body with a long, slender and slightly prehensile tail about the same length as the body. The limbs are well developed with long digits and sharp claws. The neck is well pronounced, and the head is relatively large, wider in males than in females. In adults the tongue is pink. C. gerrardii has a slate-grey to fawn dorsal ground colour with dark grey to brown... Wikipedia →