The Tiliqua scincoides scincoides, or eastern blue-tongued lizard, is native to Australia. It is unique due to its blue tongue, which can be used to warn off predators. In addition to flashing its blue tongue, the skink hisses and puffs up its chest to assert dominance and appear bigger when in the presence of its predators such as large snakes and birds. The eastern blue tongue is ovoviviparous and precocial, meaning that its young are more developed and advanced at their time of birth. The Tiliqua scincoides scincoides is not venomous to humans and can be found in suburban and urban areas, specifically in house gardens. Nomenclature The eastern blue-tongued lizard (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides) is a species of skink in the genus Tiliqua. The Tiliqua scincoides scincoides can also be called the common blue tongue, the eastern bluetongue, the eastern blue-tongued lizard, or skink. The Tiliqua scincoides scincoides is in the Animalia kingdom, the Chordata phylum, the Reptilia class, the Squamata order, the Scincidae family, the Tiliqua genus, the T Scincoides species, and the T. s. Scincoides subspecies. Appearance The eastern blue-tongued lizard has a short body and short legs. This lizard weighs approximately 1 kilogram and extends approximately 60 centimeters. 360mm of the 60 cm are the lizards' head and body. The snout-vent length is 300-320mm and the hind limb length makes up 20% of snout-vent length. The skinks have tails that are short and robust. In other words, the length of the hind legs are roughly 62 mm while the tail length is approximately 195mm and makes up 50-75% of the snout-vent length. The lizard can have different colors, but its pattern frequently appears to be banded. The tongue of the lizard is a blue color and can appear to have a hint of violet. This blue tongue is used to alarm predators and scare them off. The eastern blue-tongue lizard has smooth skin covered with scales that overlap and have small bone plates. The ventral (abdominal) region of the lizard is a silver or gray color. The lizard's back, however, appears dark brown and cream-colored and its head is pale brown. Across its body, the eastern-blue-tongued lizard has broad black and brown bands. This lizard can generally be identified by its black stripe that extends from its eye to its tympanum (exposed eardrum), and sometimes all the way to the side of the lizard's neck. The lizards