Tales of Scales: Australian skinks and dragons

Settle in for a special double feature of talks about Australia's scaliest residents!

Hear from WA Museum herpetologists and learn more about these fascinating creatures. 

Thar Be Dragons! Agamid dragon lizards of WA

Dr Paul Doughty
Australian dragon lizards are among the most iconic of reptiles here. Think frilled neck lizards, thorny devil and bearded dragons, to name a few. In this talk, Paul Doughty will provide a broad overview of dragon lizards – their global and Australian evolutionary context, with a special focus on WA and dragons of the Geraldton region.

One Skink, Two Skink, Big Skink, Blue Skink: the origins of Australia’s most diverse reptiles

Dr Kailah Thorn
Skinks are lizards with shiny overlapping scales, varying numbers of limbs up to 4, and the inability to rock a turtleneck sweater (when they have an obvious neck!). Australian skink species outnumber all our mammals, representing the most diverse group of non-flying terrestrial vertebrates. This talk will draw on Kailah’s expertise on fossil skinks, delving into where these lizards came from, how long they’ve been here, and what Australia’s isolated biogeography has produced over the last few million years.