Alpine cool-skink
species of reptile
The alpine cool-skink (Carinascincus greeni), also known commonly as the northern snow skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Eugongylinae of the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Tasmania, Australia where it mainly occurs within the north of the state.
Etymology
The specific name, greeni, is in honor of Tasmanian ornithologist Robert "Bob" Green.
Classification
This species was previously known as Niveoscincus greeni, however it has been reclassified as Carinascincus, along with several other species from the genus Niveoscincus.
Description
Carinascincus greeni is an alpine skink which has small dark scales with pale green to bronze spots. The head is sometimes paler than the body, with larger spots. C. greeni has been found to grow to a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in), with midbody scales in 40–44 rows around the body.
Habitat and geographic distribution
Carinascincus greeni is skink species endemic to alpine areas of Tasmania above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) of elevation. The species is mostly observed around Cradle Mountain and the central plateau, however it is found as far east as Ben Lomond National Park and as far south as Mt Field.
It is restricted to rocky banks of streams and swamps, as well as boulder fields where it can often be found basking.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alpine cool-skink” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.