Eulamprus tympanum
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The southern water skink, cool-temperate water-skink, highland water skink, or Dreeite water skink (Eulamprus tympanum) is a medium-sized (maximum snout-vent length c. 100 mm) species of skink that is endemic to Australia. These skinks are found in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria as well as on Tasmania's Rodondo Island in the Bass Strait. They are viviparous, mating in spring, and giving birth to live young in mid to late summer.
The southern water skink is a medium-sized skink with a snout-to-vent length of up to 85 mm (3.3 in). The head and body are mainly olive-brown, with darker speckles. The flanks are olive-brown with pale speckling. This species is native to southeastern Australia. It is found in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, the eastern part of Southern Australia and Tasmania, where it only occurs on Rodondo Island. Its habitat is in the vicinity of fresh water and its altitudinal range extends from sea level to near the top of Mount Kosciuszko.
The skink usually lives near small creeks, hunting for small prey such as invertebrates, tadpoles, small frogs and other small skinks. Its metabolic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cool-temperate Water Skink sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 165 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cool-temperate Water Skink in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in June and July, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cool-temperate Water Skink sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Melbourne, in our data
Melbourne is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Cool-temperate Water Skink sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Cool-temperate Water Skink that you can see in Melbourne (family Scincidae, Skinks) are Common Bluetongue (about 20%), Pale-flecked Garden Sunskink (about 20%) and Southern Weasel Skink (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cool-temperate Water Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Melbourne (165 verified sightings), 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.
