When I first found this bluey, she flattened her body and displayed her blue tongue at me. She only employed the full deimatic display once, but in the video you can see her gaping and increasing the number of tongue flicks in response to me as a potential predator. Shortly after she became much more docile. A wonderful surprise on new years eve!
Northern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) midstride flickering its tongue. The scales are so sleek to the touch that you can run your hands smoothly on the lizard in both directions. Blueys have a robust head with tough head shield scales and flat round teeth for crushing invertebrates and plant matter. Like most skinks their limbs are proportionally small, and blueys often drag their hind limbs along while walking.
Photographed and filmed after disturbance [4]
Cane toads have nearly wiped them out locally since their arrival over ten years ago, and blueys are now a rare sight in the Top End. She is probably the only one I will encounter while I’m here, but it is promising to see that they are still around.
