Alpine Water Skink (Eulamprus kosciuskoi)
Photo: John Bromilow
Description
- The Alpine Water Skink is a robust medium-sized skink.
- Its body is up to 85 mm in length (excluding tail).
- They are an olive-brown colour with three black stripes down the length of their body. Their sides are black with creamy-yellow spots. Their belly is pale yellow and may have some black spots.
- They shelter in burrows under rocks, logs and mosses.
- They eat invertebrates, tadpoles, small skinks and occasionally fruit.
Find out more about the Alpine Water Skink on Canberra NatureMapr.
Where are they
- The Alpine Water Skink lives in alpine/sub-alpine areas. This includes:
- Namadgi National Park
- The Snowy Mountains and Northern Tablelands in New South Wales
- Alpine National Park in Victoria.
- They can be found in the high-country wetlands and occasionally in wet sod-tussock grasslands in winter.
Conservation threats
The main threat to the Alpine Water Skink is habitat loss due to climate change. Other threats include:
- damage to habitat by higher temperatures and more frequent and severe fires, hard-hooved animals and feral pigs
- invasive weeds in wetlands
- predators such as foxes, cats and trout.
Conservation status
- International – Least Concern (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List).
- National – Vulnerable (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999).
- Australian Capital Territory – Vulnerable (Nature Conservation Act 2014).
Conservation actions
In the ACT, the habitat where the Alpine Water Skink feeds and shelters is protected in Namadgi National Park. Conservation actions include to:
- manage threats, including those relating to park use
- continue programs for controlling feral animals and invasive species
- update management guidelines, to include ecological needs for this species
- collect data on population trends and habitat
- encourage and support research and community involvement.