The Australian Striped Skink, also known as the Copper-tailed Ctenotus or Copper-Tailed Skink, (Ctenotus taeniolatus) is a species of medium-sized skinks found commonly along the eastern seaboard of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and throughout the country generally. Striped skinks are found in open bushland

Bushland

Bushland is any area in Australia that is predominantly indigenous flora and fauna.Bushland is the term commonly used by conservation protection groups and other environmental groups as a blanket term for natural vegetation, which may cover any kind of habitat from open shrubby country with few...

 and heathland. They can grow to be 30 cm long.

Striped skinks are olive brown on top with stripes of dark brown and white running from head to tail. They have a black, white edged vertebral band and a white dorsolateral band edged in black. The sides are dark brown and spotted with white.

Like most skinks, they eat mainly small invertebrates like insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s and worms. They live in rocky and sandy environs, seeking sunny basking spots with cover nearby so they can dart away from predators.

External links

• photo of Ctenotus taeniolatus, Townsville Reptiles
• photo of Ctenotus taeniolatus, Museum Vistoria
• photo of Ctenotus taeniolatus, Museum Vistoria