blue-tongued lizard

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


name given to Tiliqua nigroluteus, Gray, a common Australian andTasmanian lizard belonging to the family Scincidae.The name is derived from its blue-coloured tongue, and onaccount of its sluggish habits it is also often called theSleepy lizard.

1887. F. McCoy, `Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria,' Dec. 14,pl. 131:

«Not uncommon about Melbourne, where it is generally called the `Blue-tongued Lizard,' or `Sleepy Lizard.'»

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