Our mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earthâs biological diversity.
Todayâs animal is the Solomon Islands skink. It is, as the name suggests, found in Solomon Islands, a group of tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean. My first question when researching this animal was: whatâs a skink? Iâd heard of them before and thought they were kind of like salamanders and newts. Turns out I was dead wrong. Skinks are reptiles, not amphibians, and are a family of lizards. Good to know! The Solomon Islands skink, in fact, is the largest known species of skink. It can grow up to 32 inches (including its tail). The tail of the skink is very important to this species, which spends most of its time in trees. Its long and flexible tail is used while climbing around the tree tops in search for food.
There are many other large lizards established in Florida that some people misidentify as iguanas. The brown basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) is a large (up to 2 feet) lizard that is often mistaken for an iguana and occurs in the same areas as introduced iguanas.Knight anoles (Anolis equestris) commonly reach between 12â18 inches. Jamaican giant anole (Anolis garmani) males can reach 12 inches.he brown basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) is a large (up to 2 feet) lizard that is often mistaken for an iguana and occurs in the same areas as introduced iguanas. Knight anoles (Anolis equestris) commonly reach between 12â18 inches.