Sandfish skink
Sandfish skink
Reptile
A desert lizard that 'swims' through loose sand by wriggling, with transparent scales shielding its eyes and a wedge-shaped snout to shovel ahead.
A desert lizard that literally 'swims' through loose sand.
💡 Fun Facts
- They can dive into loose sand and wriggle through it just like a fish swimming in water.
- They have transparent scales covering their eyes to keep the sand out.
- Their wedge-shaped snout acts like a shovel to help them dig quickly.
Name Story
Scincus scincus
means “skink-skink — the fish that swims in sand”
What does its name mean?
- Scincus — skink — the ancient name for this kind of lizardLatin, from Greek skinkos
- scincus — repeats the genus, so the name says 'skink' twiceLatin
- sandfish — for the way it 'swims' through loose sandEnglish
Its scientific name simply says 'skink' twice over — and our word 'skink' comes straight from it. The lovely common name is 'sandfish': with smooth, slippery scales it dives under the desert sand and wriggles through it as if swimming through water.