The blotched blue-tongued lizard resides in southern parts of the Australian state of New South Wales and a smidgeon of the neighboring state of South Australia. There are several species of blue-tongued lizards in Australia. This one, Tiliqua nigrolutea is restricted to the highland areas between the Victorian border and the Blue Mountains. It also occurs on Tasmania and the islands of the Bass Strait (Jones and Edwards 1998, Shea 1997).

Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )

Continent: Australia
Distribution: Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria)

The appearance of the blotched blue - tongued lizard is hinted in its scientific name: Tiliqua nigrolutea. Nigro and lutea mean black and yellow respectively. Indeed, this lizard is usually dark brown or black with yellow, cream or pink blotches on it. Although the blue-tongues are the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae), many of their characteristics differ from that of an average skink. First of all, they have an unusual body shape with a stout torso, short limbs and a thick, short tail. Furthermore, unlike smaller skinks, blue-tongues rarely lose their tails.

There are also differences between the males and females of the species. The males have proportionally bigger head and a more heavyset body. This is due to the shape of the two hemipenes (the male copulatory organs). Females are longer in length ((27-30cm to the males' 25-27cm). Because of this, the females are greater in mass weighing between 350 - 450g while males stay within the 300-350g range. (Cogger 2000, Jones and Edwards 1998).

Range mass: 300 to 450 g.

The blotched blue-tongue lizard resides in open country with lots of ground cover such as leaf litter and shrubs. At night, they find shelter under the leaf litter, rocks and logs. Because they cannot produce their own body heat, these skinks live in areas where they can bathe in sunlight during periods of the day in the summer. They need to maintain a body temperature of 30 - 35 degrees Celsius when active (Shea 1997).

Because of the great degree of human activity in New South Wales (e.g. the city of Sydney) and Tasmania, blue-tongues no longer live exclusively in the wild. Tiliqua nigrolutea have also adapted to suburban life. They can frequently be found in backyards where some will reside for many years. They will bathe in the sun on the lawns and paths while cooling off in the rockeries, pipes and cavities under the house (Jones & Edwards 1998).

Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland

Blue tongues are omnivores and eat a great melange of plants and animals. Since these large skinks are not particularly agile, they eat mostly slow-moving animals such as snails and beetles. Their strong jaws are fashioned to crush the shells of their prey. They have a strong liking for strawberries. In captivity, they are given a diet of catfood and soft fruits such as bananas and kiwifruit. (Cogger 2000)

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 11.5 years.

Maximum longevity: 11.5 years (captivity)

These blotched blue-tongues like other blue-tongues are solitary animals except during mating season. Males and females emerge from hibernation at different times. The males come out in late September while the females come forth in late October. Mating occurs soon after in the months of November and December. Studies done at the University of Tasmania show that males begin to produce their sperm as early as the previous fall so that only the final stages of sperm production occurs in the spring. It is at this time that males fight aggressively among themselves. Furthermore the actual coital process can be very rough and violent in manner. Afterwards, females carry the scrape marks from the male's biting (Jones and Edwards 1998)

After impregnation, the embryos develop in their mother's oviduct with the help of an exceptionally well-developed placenta. The placenta contains a large yolky egg which supplies the nutrition for the developing young. The clutch size is generally around six. Earlier studies that put the clutch size at 25 have been dismissed because the strain would have been too much on the mother. At birth, the newborns eat the placental membrane. Within a few days, they willl shed their skin for the first time. Subsequently, the young are on their own and disperse soon after. There is virtually no parental care. Even though they are now fully independent, they will not be sexually mature for four to five years. (Shea 1997)

Because of the great toll on female lizards during their pregnancy, they are likely to only reproduce every other year. Males are reproductively active every year (Shea 1997).

This species is not considered to be in need of special conservation measures, though a related species, Tiliqua adelaidensis is considered endangered (Cogger 2000).

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

None

In suburban areas, the blotched blue - tongue feasts on snails, slugs and caterpillars (its usual diet) which will be plentiful in any garden or backyard (Jones & Edwards 1998).