Fun Centralian Blue-tongued Skink Facts For Kids

Are you interested in knowing more about skinks? Consider yourself lucky as today, we have brought you a skink species all the way from Australia.

The Centralian blue-tongued skink, which has the scientific name Tiliqua multifasciata, is a light-bodied blue-tongue skink that is related to the eastern blue-tongued skink and the blotched blue-tongued skink.

This skink is known for its broad body and orange-brown bands that cover the length of its body ending at a brown tail. The dark-colored bands are darker than the pale bands present in-between the dark bands.

This blue-tongue has a moderate body length with short stubby legs. When in Australia, you can find this species in Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.

This skink prefers to live a solitary life in the arid and semi-arid areas of Australia, and it sustains on fruits and insects found in the habitat.

The distribution of its population is quite good, and it has the Least Concern status as per the IUCN Red List. However, habitat fragmentation has been one of the threats to this species apart from the evils of the illegal pet trade.

Want to know more about this species? Keep reading to learn Centralian blue-tongued facts. For more relatable content, check out these western skink facts and rainbow skink facts for kids.

Centralian Blue-Tongued Skink Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Centralian blue-tongued skink?

The Centralian blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata) is a species of reptile that hails from Australia and is part of the group of blue-tongued skink species.

What class of animal does a Centralian blue-tongued skink belong to?

The Centralian blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata) belongs to the class Reptilia and to the genus Tiliqua.

How many Centralian blue-tongued skinks are there in the world?

As a commonly found species of blue tongues, we are yet to know about the exact population of this reptile.

Where does a Centralian blue-tongued skink live?

The Centralian blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata) is said to belong to the extreme north-west corner of New South Wales, Australia, and is found in South Australia as well as extensively in the central part of western Australia. This skink is also found in the Australian states of Northern Territory and Queensland.

What is a Centralian blue-tongued skink's habitat?

The main habitat for this Australian reptile is the natural arid and semi-arid region. This blue-tongue skink species prefers to inhabit areas with spinifex vegetation.

As a fairly sedentary species, you will seldom see these blue tongues moving around in their habitat except when it has to eat. In a day, these Australian lizards can move less than 267 yd (244.1 m). In New South Wales this species is strictly found in the Triodia habitat, where this lizard lives in the red sand-covered areas.

Who does a Centralian blue-tongued skink live with?

As a lizard species, the skinks also live a solitary life except for the breeding season when skinks of the opposite sexes come together to mate.

How long does a Centralian blue-tongued skink live?

Even though we aren't aware of the exact lifespan of the Centralian blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata), most of the blue tongues manage to live for around 15-20 years in the wild. When kept in captivity, the species may even reach a healthy life of 30 years.

How do they reproduce?

Like any other reptile, one of the most interesting things about this blue-tongue skink is its reproduction. This is a viviparous species, so these animals give birth to young skinks instead of laying eggs. The females go through a gestation period of around 100 days and give birth to 2-10 young skinks.

What is their conservation status?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the Centralian blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata) is classified under the status of Least Concern. These lizards have a prominent population in different parts of Australia, and it is a commonly found species. 

Centralian Blue-Tongued Skink Fun Facts

What does a Centralian blue-tongued skink look like?

When it comes to the skins, we have to address the beautiful body of this lizard species. Similar to the other blue-tongue skins, the Centralian blue-tongued skink also has a broad body with a broad head.

It reaches a moderate length, and the body is covered in brown and yellow scales.

The scales on its back almost look like it is laid in a brown bands pattern that goes around its body. Some people believe that the Centralian blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata) has a blue body, but that isn't true as most species are covered in orange-brown or yellow scales.

These skinks have a short, predominantly brown tail along with stubby legs. You have to remember that the fairly heavy body of these blue tongues limits the movement of this species.

The tongue is the blue part of its body, but again compared to popular beliefs, this isn't species that are poisonous or venomous. In fact, one of its most common threats is to ingest a poisonous toad which can be fatal for the lizard.

When you pay attention to its head, you will notice that it is paler than the rest of the body. Moreover, on both sides of the head, there is a dark gray or brown stripe leading to its eye.

The dark brown color is also present on the legs.

These skinks also have dull teeth, which help them to chew through fruits and insects. When you look at its body from a top angle, you will notice that the light-colored scales present on its broad head are larger than the orange or brown scales present along the length of its body.

How cute are they?

Even though we wouldn't call these species as cute or majestic as the lava lizard, these Australian skinks are a rare wonder of the world. Also, its blue tongue really gives us a surprise every time this skink opens its mouth.

How do they communicate?

Communication is limited in the Centralian blue-tongue skink as it will seldom meet another lizard in its habitat. However, body language and tactile communication matter a lot for all reptile species, especially to be wary of the predators.

When it comes to assessing the habitat and environment, the tongue of this skink comes quite handy, and its bright blue color can also deter predators and other animals by giving the wrong idea that this blue-tongue skink is poisonous or toxic.

How big is a Centralian blue-tongued skink?

The average body length range of these blue tongues is around 15.7-17.7 in (40-45 cm). Compared to it, the common garden skink attains an average body length range of 3-4 in (7.6-10.2 cm), making it tiny in comparison to the Centralian blue-tongue skink.

How fast can a Centralian blue-tongued skink move?

When it comes to fast movement, the Centralian blue-tongue will give up even before the competition has started. The broad body and heads of these reptiles restrict them from much movement.

When predators are nearby, this skink will often try to hide with the help of rocks. However, its orange-brown bands do help it to camouflage well with the red sand usually found in its habitat.

How much does a Centralian blue-tongued skink weigh?

The average weight range of the Centralian blue-tongue skink is around 10-18 oz (283.5-510.3 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names are provided to the male and female of this species.

What would you call a baby Centralian blue-tongued skink?

We can call the young of this blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua multifasciata) species skinklets.

What do they eat?

The Centralian blue-tongues have an omnivorous diet where the main source of energy is through fruits. When kept in captivity, 70% of its diet consists of fruit and vegetables, while the other 30% comes from animal proteins which can also include meat.

Its diet may include insects and birds usually found near its dry and arid Australian habitat. They also prey on the many amphibians of Australia.

Are they poisonous?

No, contrary to popular beliefs, this Australian blue-tongue reptile isn't poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

Even though the popularity of reptiles as pets has given rise to a thriving trade where animals like these are picked from their natural habitat and transported to far-off spaces, it's always important to remain against such practices.

These blue tongue skinks are endemic to Australia and its habitat, and it will be very hard for them to adapt outside the Australian habitat.

Hence, don't ever take part in the distribution or pet trade of such exotic species. Even though we don't condone purchasing blue-tongue skinks as pets, the babies can easily cost you around $150-$250. Also, all blue-tongue skinks are equally good in their own ways, we cannot choose the best among these beautiful species.

Did you know...

The scientific name Tiliqua multifasciata was first used by Sternfeld in 1919. No subspecies of this blue-tongued species have been found to date.

The Centralian blue-tongued skink is one of the eight blue-tongued skink species found in the world. All these skinks belong to the genus Tiliqua, and they are the blue-tongued skink, the blotched blue-tongued skink, the Indonesian blue-tongued skink, Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink, western blue-tongued skink (T. occipitalis), shingelback, common blue-tongued skin, and Irian Jaya blue-tongued skink.

The eastern blue-tongued skink is a subspecies of the common blue-tongued skink.

If you happen to have a blue-tongue skink as a pet, don't keep it with a bearded dragon, as it is supposed to live a solitary life.

How smart is a blue tongue skink?

We are yet to know about the smartness of these blue tongue skink species. However, just like other reptiles, it is also great at assessing its environment and avoiding threats and predators.

What is the largest blue tongue skink?

The northern blue-tongued skink is the largest as well as the heaviest blue-tongue skink that has been discovered to date.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles from our striped whipsnake interesting facts and horned toad fun facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable eastern blue tongue skink coloring pages.