Tiliqua rugosa
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Tiliqua rugosa, most commonly known as the shingleback skink, shingleback lizard, bobtail lizard, and the two-headed skink (often simply shingleback or bobtail); is a short-tailed, slow-moving species of blue-tongued skink (genus Tiliqua) endemic to Australia. Three of its four recognised subspecies are found in Western Australia, where the bobtail name is most frequently used. The fourth subspecies, T. rugosa asper, is the only one native to eastern Australia, where it goes by the common name of the eastern shingleback.
Apart from bobtail and shingleback, a variety of other common names are used in different states, including two-headed skink, stumpy lizard, stumpy-tailed lizard, pinecone lizard, bogeye or boggi, and less commonly: sleepy lizard. The Noongar Aboriginal people refer to T. rugosa as yoorn in their language.
T. rugosa has a short, wide, stumpy tail that resembles its head and may serve the purpose of confusing predators. The tail also contains fat reserves, which are drawn upon during brumation in winter, during which many lizards perform a behaviour similar to hibernation except they require water every day, but can go without food. This skink is an omnivore; it eats snails and plants and spends much of its time browsing through vegetation for food. In human habitation, it is often seen basking on roadsides or other paved areas. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 4 | Denver Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 6 | Australia Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Werribee Open Range Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Orana Wildlife Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Kyabram Fauna Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Dallas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Birmingham Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 17 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | National Zoo & Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 19 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 20 | Virginia Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Cleland Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 22 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 23 | Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 24 | Perth Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 25 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 27 | Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 28 | Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 29 | Gladys Porter Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Sydney Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 31 | Reptile Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Gorge Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 33 | Symbio Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 34 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 35 | Melbourne Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 36 | Sea Life Sydney Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 37 | Haus des Meeres | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 38 | Wild Life Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 39 | National Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | Reptile House | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 41 | African Safari World | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 42 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 43 | Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 44 | The Lair | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Shingleback Lizard sighting in Flinders Ranges National Park on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 19 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Shingleback Lizard in Flinders Ranges National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and June, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shingleback Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Shingleback Lizard sightings, Flinders Ranges National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Grampians National Park (Australia, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Shingleback Lizard that you can see in Flinders Ranges National Park (family Scincidae, Skinks) are Flinder's Ranges Rock-skink (about 50%), Tree Skink (about 40%) and Boulenger's Snake-eyed Skink (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shingleback Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Flinders Ranges National Park (39 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.
