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{{short description|Species of reptile
{{for|other species sometimes known as blue-tailed skink|Blue-tailed skink (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Christmas Island blue-tailed shining-skink
| image = N388 w1150.jpg
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}}
'''''Cryptoblepharus egeriae''''', also known [[Common name|commonly]] as the '''blue-tailed shinning-skink''', the '''Christmas Island blue-tailed shinning-skink''', and the '''Christmas Island blue-tailed skink''', is a [[species]] of [[lizard]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Scincidae]] that was once endemic to [[Christmas Island]]. The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was discovered in 1888.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |author=Boulenger GA|author-link=George Albert Boulenger |date=1888 |title=On the Reptiles of Christmas Island |url=https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1888.tb06729.x |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=1888 |issue= |pages=534–536 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1888.tb06729.x |issn=0370-2774}} (''Ablepharus egeriae'', new species, pp. 535–536).</ref> It was formerly the most abundant reptile on the island, and occurred in high numbers particularly near the human settlement. However, the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink began to decline sharply outwardly from the human settlement by the early 1990s, which coincided with the introduction of a predatory snake and also followed the introduction of the yellow crazy ant (''[[yellow crazy ant|Anoplolepis gracilipes]]'') in the mid-1980s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Emery |first=Jon-Paul |date=2021 |title=The lost lizards of Christmas Island: A retrospective assessment of factors driving the collapse of a native reptile community |url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.358 |journal=Conservation Science and Practice |volume=3 |issue=2|doi=10.1111/csp2.358 |s2cid=234078176 |hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30147604 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> By 2006, the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was on the endangered animals list,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Options beyond captivity for two critically endangered Christmas Island reptiles |url=https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/projects/options-beyond-captivity-for-two-critically-endangered-christmas-island-reptiles#:~:text=The%20blue-tailed%20skink%20(Cryptoblepharus,rapidly%20from%20the%20late%201980s. |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au}}</ref> and by 2010 the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was [[extinct in the wild]]. From 2009
==Etymology==
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== Description ==
The Christmas
==Diet==
The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink is a forager known as an [[insectivore]].<ref name=":2" /> Its diet primarily consists of [[Cricket (insect)|crickets]], [[
== Reproduction ==
For the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink, the first [[Seasonal breeder|breeding season]] occurs when males and females are approximately one year old.<ref name=":4" /> The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink typically lives for seven years in the wild, six of which are active breeding years. The male Christmas Island blue-tailed skink will demonstrate [[Courtship display|courtship]] behaviour when trying to find a mate. The female Christmas Island blue-tailed skink will emit biochemicals for the males to smell, letting them know that the female is in her fertile stage of [[reproduction]].<ref name=":1" /> Male Christmas Island blue-tailed skinks will often fight each other to win a female mate during breeding season. These skinks are [[
== Distribution ==
== Conservation
The threat of extinction is largely attributed to introductions of invasive species, including a predatory wolf snake and the yellow crazy ant which were unintentionally brought to the island in the 1980s.<ref name=":0" /> The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink is now extinct in the wild. However, [[Taronga Zoo]] currently has an active breeding program hosted by [[Taronga Conservation Society]], which originated from 66 skinks that were brought into captivity before their population was wiped out.<ref name=":3" /> The breeding program has been running for over a decade, with the goal of releasing some of the skinks back into their native habitat.<ref name=":3" /> Since the Taronga Conservation Society conservation efforts began, 300 skinks have been introduced to the [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Cocos Islands]].<ref name=":3" />
The genome of the blue-tailed skink (along with the [[Lepidodactylus listeri|Lister's gecko]]) was sequenced in 2022, marking the first high quality skink reference genome.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |
== Evolutionary relationships ==
''C. egeriae'' is most closely related to the [[Cryptoblepharus metallicus|''metallicus'']] group of ''[[Cryptoblepharus]],'' native to Australia, with the estimated divergence of ''C. egeriae'' from the group taking place around seven million years ago.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Oliver |first1=Paul M. |author-link=species:Paul M. Oliver |last2=Blom |first2=Mozes P. K. |last3=Cogger |first3=Harold G. |last4=Fisher |first4=Robert N. |author4-link=species:Robert N. Fisher |last5=Richmond |first5=Jonathan Q. |last6=Woinarski |first6=John C. Z. |date=2018-06-30 |title=Insular biogeographic origins and high phylogenetic distinctiveness for a recently depleted lizard fauna from Christmas Island, Australia |url= |journal=Biology Letters |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=20170696 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2017.0696 |pmc=6030605 |pmid=29899126}}</ref>
== See also ==
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==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3005807}}
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