Samphire Slender Bluetongue

About the Samphire Slender Bluetongue

The Spinifex slender blue-tongue or Samphire slender bluetongue (Cyclodomorphus melanops) is an endemic species of skink that inhabits the arid areas of central Australia. The Spinifex slender blue-tongue is closely related to the large blue-tongue skinks (Tiliqua Gray, 1825). However is individually categorised under the Genus Cyclodomorphus and species Cyclodomorphus melanops (C. melanops).

First discovered in 1867. The spinifex slender lizard was first categorised within the species group of Egernia known as the Günther's Skink (Cyclodomorphus branchialis) (Günther, 1867). However, in recent times this group underwent a taxonomic redivision causing the spinifex slender blue-tongue to be divided into three different subspecies. This division formed the genus known as the Cyclodomorphus melanops. This is a group that consists of small to medium-sized skinks that inhabit that arid areas of Australia. The Cyclodomorphus melanops subspecies include:

Cyclodomorphus melanops melanops (Stirling & Zietz, 1893) Cyclodomorphus melanops elongatus (Werner, 1910) Cyclodomorphus melanops siticulosus (Shea & Miller, 1995) The C. melanops... Wikipedia →