ABOUT
About Barbour's Skink
Total length 15.5-20 cm (snout-vent length 5.2-7.3 cm). A species endemic to Japan, distributed on Amami Oshima, Kakeromajima, Uke-jima, Yoro-jima, Tokunoshima, and the Okinawa Islands. Juveniles are blackish brown with five bright longitudinal stripes, and a vivid blue tail that makes up more than two-thirds of the total tail length. As they grow, the blue fades; males become overall dark brown to brown, while many females retain coloring closer to that of juveniles. It prefers the forest floor and edges of natural evergreen broadleaf forest or well-recovered secondary forest, basking in the sun to regulate its body temperature while feeding on spiders and land snails. It becomes sluggish in winter but does not hibernate. Its numbers have declined due to drying of habitat from logging and undergrowth clearance, and predation by feral cats and the introduced small Indian mongoose. It is listed as Vulnerable on the Ministry of the Environment's Red List, and in 2019 was also designated a Kagoshima Prefecture Rare Wildlife Species, making unauthorized capture or collection subject to penalties.
SAFETY
Observation Safety Notes
Please enjoy Amami's wildlife through photographs. Some species are protected by law or local ordinance, and capturing or removing them is prohibited. In special protection zones within the national park, collecting any wildlife is prohibited entirely. Please check the notes on this page, and confirm local rules before visiting any site.
This creature is subject to: “Collecting prohibited (Kagoshima Prefecture Rare Wildlife)”. Touching or capturing it is prohibited by law or ordinance.
