Identification
The Striped Skink, Ctenotus robustus, has a brown ground colour, with a wide dark mid-vertebral line, running from the nape onto the tail. This stripe is bordered by a narrow off-white line. The narrow pale shoulder stripe is bordered above by a narrow dark streak. The sides are brown with pale spots, bordered below with an indistinct pale stripe from below the eye to the hind limb. It has a snout vent length of up to 110 mm.
Striped Skink
Photographer: Peter Robertson / Source: Wildlife Profiles Pty. Ltd.
Distribution and habitat
The Striped Skink is widely distributed throughout Victoria except for the Dividing Range and Gippsland. It lives in a wide variety of habitats from sandy heaths to rocky outcrops.
Biology
A ground dwelling, sun loving species whose diet primarily consists of ants, but is supplemented with spiders, grasshoppers, termites, beetles and flies, as well as small amounts of vertebrate and plant material. Females lay up to 6 eggs in a clutch.
Further Reading
Cogger, H. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books.
Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2003. Reptiles of Australia. Princeton University Press.