Common Skink

Smooth skinned lizard endemic to New Zealand. By some accounts it's an Oligosoma nigriplantare. Best viewed large.

Today I discovered a whole family of lizards lounging in the lesser Mexican stonecrop. I was standing very still observing a half-grown praying mantis nymph and gradually became aware of the scene beyond it. There were three really fat, dark skinks and four long skinny ones in the usual colour. I don't recall seeing them as dark as this, and so fat! Perhaps they are pregnant females. I must keep watch as they give birth to live young. This one is much shorter than usual because it has sacrificed its tail while under attack. A new one is growing, which is why it looks strange. The lizard was 8 or 9 cms long, but with an intact tail would be 13 or 14 cms long.

Here is one I blipped some time ago, that is the usual shape and colour. That one is wrongly labelled with a name I got from an outdated book.

The clouds went up higher today and the mountains were visible. They were dark grey and sombre, flat against the light grey sky.