Egernia cunninghami
Silhouette: Kailah Thorn & Ben King · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink (Egernia cunninghami), also known commonly as Cunningham's skink, is a species of large skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southeastern Australia. Both the specific name, cunninghami, and the common names are in honour of English botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham.
E. cunninghami can reach up to 40 cm (16 inches) in total length (including tail), and may be confused with the blue-tongued lizards (genus Tiliqua). Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink has a distinctive keel on each scale, which gives it a slightly spiny appearance. It is extremely variable in colour, ranging from dark brown to black, with or without blotchy patches, speckles, or narrow bands.
E. cunninghami prefers to live communally in the crevices of rocky outcrops or hollow logs. Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink is primarily herbivorous. There is currently research being done on the isolated population of Cunningham's skink that inhabits the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia. This population is considered vulnerable due to the fragmented (disjunct) distribution... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Kyabram Fauna Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Auckland Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Wellington Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 13 | Grodno Zoo | 🇧🇾 Belarus | |
| 14 | Gorge Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 15 | Symbio Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 17 | Melbourne Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 18 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 19 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 21 | Wirrimbirra Flora & Fauna Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Cunningham's Skink sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 102 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 44 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and March
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cunningham's Skink in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and July, the lowest months. Those are among Blue Mountains National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in May.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cunningham's Skink sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Cunningham's Skink sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cunningham's Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Blue Mountains National Park (102 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
