Saproscincus mustelinus
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Saproscincus mustelinus, commonly known as the southern weasel skink or weasel shadeskink, is a small species of skink which is endemic to Australia. S. mustelinus is usually nocturnal, but is most active in the evening and warm mornings.
S. mustelinus hunts and feeds on small insects and other small invertebrates. The southern weasel skink is around 45 mm (1.8 in) from snout to vent, is covered in iridescent reddish brown (fine) scales, and has several distinctive white marks behind and below the eye.
If frightened this skink has the ability to lose its tail as a defence mechanism; the tail lies on the ground twitching, distracting the predator so the skink can escape. The southern weasel skink tends to utilize existing vegetation and fallen timber for shelter.
The southern weasel skink's distribution forms a coastal strip from south Victoria to southern Queensland. Females lay up to four eggs per clutch in a communal nest. The nests are normally a dugout, a burrow, which contain the eggs of numerous females. Laying normally occurs between spring and late summer... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Weasel Skink sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 191 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 17th most-seen of the 39 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Weasel Skink in Sydney on a given day, against about 10% in January to October, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Weasel 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 Southern Weasel Skink sightings, Sydney ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Melbourne (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Weasel Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Sydney (191 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.
