Species Fact Profile: Prehensile-Tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata)

                                Prehensile-Tailed (Solomon Island) Skink

                                                Corucia zebrata (Gray, 1855)

Range: Solomon Islands  

Habitat:  Tropical Rainforest

Diet: Flowers, Leaves, Fruits, Shoots

Social Grouping: Pairs, Family Groups

Reproduction:  Female gives true live birth, nurturing the developing young with a placenta.  Pregnancy lasts 6-8 months.  Single births are most common, though twins and (on one documented occasion) triplets have been observed.  Neonates are very large, nearly half the size of the mother.  Both parents care for the young. Juveniles typically leave the group at one year old in order to breed, but some have been known to stay with their parents for several years as part of a family group  without being driven away.

Lifespan: 25-30 Years

      Conservation Status: CITES Appendix II

• World’s largest skink species, with total length of up to 80 centimeters (nearly half of which is tail).  Weigh 395-850 grams. 
• Body is long and slender with strong, short legs and a triangular shaped head with a blunt snout, large eyes, and large jaws.  The toes have thick, curved claws to aid in climbing.  The males tend to have broader heads, more slender bodies than the females.  Scales are large and smooth.  Males also have a “V” shaped pattern of scales just aft of the cloacae
• The tail is prehensile (species is also known as the monkey-tailed skink) and used in climbing, cannot be regenerated if lost
• Coloration is olive-green to dark green, speckled with light brown or black flecks.  Speckles sometimes resemble a zebra’s stripes, hence the Latin name.  Underside is light green or yellow
• Primary active at dawn and dusk, with most foraging occurring at dusk.  During the day they rest hidden in branches or tree hollows
• Good eyesight and good sense of smell (primary sense for finding food as well as for identifying other members of its family group), uses tongue-flicking and its Jacobson’s organ on roof of the mouth like a snake
• Juveniles eat the feces of adults in order to acquire their microflora to aid in digestion.  
• Both males and females are territorial, aggressive towards individuals that are not a part of their family group, though a group may consist of more than one breeding pair.  Members of the group will protect each other, including those that they are not directly related to.  Females become especially aggressive in the build-up to parturition
• Almost strictly arboreal, usually found in the upper canopy of the forest (especially associated with strangler fig trees – genus Ficus)
•  Predators include birds of prey, snakes, and rats.  If threatened, they will hiss and bite
• Two subspecies – the southern, or common (C. zebrata zebrata) and the northern (C. zebrata alfredscmidti – named after an amateur German herpetologist).  The northern subspecies is smaller and has darker eyes and a black sclera (“white” of eye).  It is possible that skinks from different islands might not be reproductively compatible.  A significant number of pairings of skinks from different islands in controlled settings have resulted in non-productive unions, with important implications for captive breeding programs
• Primary threat is illegal logging, as well as loss of habitat for agricultural purposes.  Also threatened by hunting for food by local peoples, collection for sale on the pet trade.  Survival threats are exacerbated by their low reproductive rate.  Due to limited range on small islands, climate change and rising sea levels could also impact this species in the future