Morethia obscura
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The shrubland Morethia skink (Morethia obscura) is a species of skink endemic to Australia, of the family Scincidae, found in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria (Australia), Western Australia in Australia. Prior to 1845, this species of skink had been generally recognised as species M. lineoocellatus. In 1845, J.E Gray an eminent British zoologist, distinguished the shrubland Morethia skink from the M. lineoocellatus as it had supranasal scales and renamed it M. anomalus. G.M. Storr described the more commonly known shrubland morethia skink as Morethia obscura in 1972. In 1972, Storr carried out a study and made observations based on research conducted by M. Smyth in the same year. This separated the new species M. obscura from M. lineoocellata using the condition of the supraciliary scales described by Smyth and the presence of supranasal scales as the major diagnostic.
Skinks are small reptiles that belong to the family Scincidae. The family Scinicidae is described as being one of the most diverse lizard families known. Skinks in general have quite small legs not in proportion to their body size and no pronounced neck but... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shrubland Morethia Skink sighting in Perth on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th 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 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September–April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shrubland Morethia Skink in Perth on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and August, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shrubland Morethia Skink sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Perth, in our data
Perth is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Shrubland Morethia Skink sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Shrubland Morethia Skink that you can see in Perth (family Scincidae, Skinks) are Shingleback Lizard (about 40%), Buchanan's Snake-eyed Skink (about 40%) and Two-toed Earless Skink (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shrubland Morethia Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Perth (17 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.
