It would be easy to mistake the three-toed snake-toothed skink for a snake!
NSW Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Commonwealth Conservation Status: Vulnerable
The three-toed, snake-toothed skink’s name is quite the mouthful but describes some of this burrowing lizard interesting features. With a head and body measuring up to 23cm and a thick long tail, its four tiny legs with three clawed toes are so small they could easily be missed. Ranging from a fawn through to a dark brown, the skink often has a darkened collar and fine patterned on its belly. The long, curved teeth are also a fascinating feature of this amazing reptile.
Distribution
This map, taken from the NSW government Office for Environment and Heritage highlights areas in pink and/purple. These are the sub-regions where the species or community is known or predicted to occur. Pink identifies that the species in known to have been in this region while purple identifies areas where the species is predicted to exist. They may not occur throughout the whole of the sub-region but may be restricted to certain areas.
The three-toed snake-tooth skink is known to occur along the coast from the Macleay in NSW through to south eastern Queensland, although it is uncommon South of Grafton
Habitat and Diet
Preferring rainforest and occasionally moist eucalypt forest, on loamy or sandy soils, the Three-toed Snake-tooth Skink lives in loose soil, leaf litter and rotting logs. It’s preference to burrow under these environments can make them difficult to spot.
In more urban areas, they can be found in garden beds and urban yards under leaf litter on alluvial soils.
The main diet of the three-toed, snake-toothed skink includes earthworms and beetle grubs.
Under Threat
The main threats to the three-toed, snake-tooth skink are listed as:
- Clearing of habitat.
- Removal of fallen logs and leaf litter through firewood collection.
- Loss of leaf litter and compaction of soil through grazing by stock.
- Habitat degradation and loss of shelter and forage habitat through pig activity.
- Removal of fallen logs and leaf litter through frequent fire.
- Changing fire regime causing loss of habitat at the edge of and within the rainforest; emerging threat due to climate change.
What can we do?
NSW’s Saving our species identifies actions being take to secure this threatened species and its ecological community in NSW in the long term. This conservation strategy has been adopted under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
Activities that will assist the survival of this species include:
- Control fire in areas of habitat to protect leaf litter and fallen logs.
- Manage cattle grazing in areas of habitat to protect leaf litter and topsoil.
- Retain and protect areas of rainforest and moist eucalypt forest.
- Control pigs when they occur within potential habitat for this species
- Notify consent authorities of habitat requirements and appropriate management in urban areas.
- Monitor known populations, particularly where risks are high such as urban areas.
- Protect areas of habitat particularly in urban areas where risk of habitat loss is high.
Visit Wallace reserve, Dunbogan: As part of a new education project, some of our local play spaces are putting a spotlight on a threatened species local to our region. Recently, in an upgrade to Wallace Reserve, the three-toed, snake-tooth skink has been included into the park design with an oversized timber sculpture depicting the reptile and a fun skinks and ladders game incorporated in the park. Be sure to visit and check it out!
Log sightings on iNaturalist: If you spot a three-toed, snake-tooth skink, or want to learn more about this species, you can head to iNaturalist. It’s ideal for visual records and broader monitoring.
