Egernia kingii
King's skink (Egernia kingii) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. The specific name, kingii, is in honor of Australian Phillip Parker King, who explored the coast of Australia while he was an officer in the Royal Navy.
King's skink is native to coastal regions of south-western Australia. It is common on Rottnest Island and Penguin Island and some coastal areas with open forest and open heath. King's skink is a large, heavy-bodied black skink that can reach a total length (including tail) of 55 centimetres (22 in) with a mass of 220 grams (8 oz).
King's skink is omnivorous and consumes mostly softer plant matter from the range of local vegetation, but supplements its diet with insects and birds' eggs. King's skink is prey for many animals including tiger snakes (Notechis spp.).
A traditional name for King's skink is wandy, given by the Nyungar people of south-west Western Australia. The first European to draw a King's skink was the artist and naturalist Ferdinand Bauer who made a detailed drawing of one during Flinders' expedition in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Healesville Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a King's Skink sighting in Rottnest Island on a given day, based on 388 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 8 reptiles we can rate there.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, about 90% of wildlife watchers report a King's Skink in Rottnest Island on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most King's Skink sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Rottnest Island, in our data
Rottnest Island is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate King's Skink sightings: about 90% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the King's Skink that you can see in Rottnest Island (family Scincidae, Skinks) are West Coast Morethia Skink (about 40%), Shingleback Lizard (about 30%) and West Coast Laterite Ctenotus (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the King's Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Rottnest Island (388 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.
