The Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata) is an arboreal species of skink that originates from the Solomon Islands. The skink has a long, slender body and strong, short legs. The tail of the Monkey-tailed skink is prehensile and is the basis for the common name of the skink. It is the tail that helps them to maneuver from branch to branch with ease.

Solomon Islands (1996) 50 Dollars (back) - The Skink (Monkey-Tailed Reptile)

Corucia zebrata has a triangular shaped head with small round eyes. Adults reach around 28 inches when fully grown making them the largest species of skink. Scales of C. zebrata are a dark green but are often speckeled with light brown of black. The scales on the underside can vary from light yellow to different shades of green. The toes on all four legs have thick, curved nails used for climbing and griping onto tree limbs.

The Solomon Islands skink has a strong crushing jaw but the teeth are small and used for eating plant material. Other common names for this species are the Prehensile Tail Skink, the Monkey-tailed Skink or the Giant Skink. There are two recognized subspecies of the Solomon Islands skink; Corucia zebrata zebrata (Common monkey-tailed Skink) and Corucia zebrata alfredschmidti (Northern Solomon monkey-tailed Skink). Among other variances, the Northern skink is larger and has darker eyes with a black sclera. The Solomon Islands skink is completely herbivorous, eating many different fruits and vegetables. One aspect notable of the species is that they function within a social group or circulus, which is somewhat rare in the reptile world. Both male and female specimens are known to be territorial and often hostile towards members not a part of the family group.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Solomon Islands Skink"