Egernia cunninghami
Silhouette: Kailah Thorn & Ben King · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cunningham's Skink sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 18th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cunningham's Skink in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
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 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Cunningham's Skink sightings, Melbourne ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Sydney (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Cunningham's 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 Cunningham's Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Melbourne (27 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.
