Tiliqua gigas keiensis Oudemans, 1894

Karin, Benjamin R., Stubbs, Alexander L., Arifin, Umilaela, Bloch, Luke M., Ramadhan, G., Iskandar, Djoko T., Arida, Evy, Reilly, Sean B., Kusnadi, Agus & Mcguire, Jimmy A., 2018, The herpetofauna of the Kei Islands (Maluku, Indonesia): Comprehensive report on new and historical collections, biogeographic patterns, conservation concerns, and an annotated checklist of species from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, Tam, and Kur, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66, pp. 704-738 : 728

Tiliqua gigas keiensis Oudemans, 1894

(Fig. 28)

Type locality. Kei Islands .

Distribution in the Kei Islands. This subspecies is endemic to the Kei Islands. We collected specimens of T. gigas on both Kei Kecil and Kei Besar. We did not collect it on Tam and Kur, though it is possible it occurs there as well.

Natural history. A ground-dwelling active forager in grass and other open habitats though we collected one specimen that was attempting to cross a stream over a log in closed canopy forest at Gunung Daab.

Field identification. Tiliqua gigas is by far the largest skink in the Kei Islands (SVL to 297 mm), with a robust body

Fig. 28. Photo in life of Tiliqua gigas from Kei Kecil (ALS 465).

shape, short legs, seven to nine dark brown crossbands that are black spotted, and a distinct blue tongue that it will display in defense. The subspecies T. gigas keiensis differs from other populations of T. gigas in having a greater number of mid-body scale rows (31–34 vs. 28–32); shorter forelimbs (forelimb length less than or equal to head length vs. forelimb length greater than head length; forelimb length 1/3–1/4 vs. 2/5 the axilla-groin distance), and more anterior temporal scales (usually four vs. three) ( de Rooij, 1915, p. 157–158).