Egernia saxatilis
Silhouette: Kailah Thorn & Ben King · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The black rock skink (Egernia saxatilis) is a species of large skink native to Eastern and Southern Australia from central New South Wales to Grampians National Park in Victoria. A large, dark colored skink, up to 135 mm from snout to base of the tail, the black rock skink is the first reptile discovered to have a "nuclear family" structure where the parents form a pair and care for their offspring for more than one year. The black rock skink is a viviparous skink meaning females give birth to live offspring instead of laying eggs. They defend their home range and families against conspecifics for up to several years.
Egernia saxatilis is divided into two separate subspecies: E. saxatilis saxatilis and E. saxatilis intermedia. Morphological and ecological differences exist between the two subspecies. The two subspecies differ in their scale counts and degree of spinosity, along with being found in two different parts of Southeastern Australia in different types of habitats. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Black Crevice-skink sighting in Grampians National Park on a given day, based on 160 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 25 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.
January and March
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black Crevice-skink in Grampians National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to August, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Crevice-skink sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Black Crevice-skink sightings, Grampians National Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 20%) and Blue Mountains National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Black Crevice-skink that you can see in Grampians National Park (family Scincidae, Skinks) are Shingleback Lizard (about 70%), Cool-temperate Water Skink (about 70%) and Pale-flecked Garden Sunskink (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Crevice-skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Grampians National Park (160 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.
