5 Mysterious Mythologized Reptiles of Fiji

Turtles of Fiji

The life span of a Sea turtle

Fun Fact about the sex of the Hatchlings

The temperature of the sand, around the eggs, determines the sex of the hatchlings. While warm sand produces mostly females, cool sand temperatures produce mainly male hatchlings. Females lay more than one clutch in a season and they usually come back to the same beach to lay. Turtles lay eggs every 2-3 years.

Anatomy of a Sea turtle

Sea Turtle Identification Chart

Snakes of Fiji

Fun Fact 1 – Yellow-bellied Sea Snake

Like other reptiles, sea snakes need to drink water to survive.  A new study suggests that yellow-bellied sea snakes can rehydrate at sea by drinking rainwater that collects on the ocean surface.  As rain falls, the uppermost part of the water’s surface is diluted, creating a temporary freshwater layer that doesn’t immediately mix with salt water, allowing them to rehydrate after sometimes many weeks without water.

Fun Fact 2 –  Banded Sea Kraits

Banded sea kraits can spend an average of 15 to 30 minutes underwater before returning to the surface for air.  Now that is a true free dive…

Iguana of Fiji

What is a Crested Iguana?

The crested iguana is a large arboreal lizard whose SVL ranges from 83 mm (hatchlings) to 223 mm (adults). The background colour of its body is pale green (with some black speckles) and is overlain with narrow white stripes with black edges running across the body. Male crested iguanas have large femoral pores making it easy to tell them apart from females. The crested iguana differs from the more widespread banded iguana (B. fasciatus) in being larger and having narrower white (black-edged) stripes. (Nature Fiji, 2008), and Fiji crested iguana or Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) is a critically endangered species of iguana native to some of the northwestern islands of the Fijian archipelago, where it is found in dry forest on Yaduataba (west of Vanua Levu), Yadua, Macuata, Yaquaga, Devuilau (Goat Island), Malolo, Monu, and Monuriki. (“Fiji crested iguana”, 2020)

Iguanas Anatomy

Endemic Geckos of Fiji

6 Characteristics of a Gecko

1. Anatomy – Geckos are mostly small, soft-skinned with a short stout body, a large head, and typically well-developed limbs.
2. Diet – Most geckos are nocturnal, which means they are active at night and consume insects, fruits, and flower nectar.
3. Voice – Most geckos make noises from a feeble click or chirp to a shrill cackle or bark.
4. Adhesive Pads – Most geckos have feet modified for climbing. The pads of their long toes are covered with small plates that are in turn covered with numerous microscopic hooks that cling to small surface irregularities, enabling geckos to climb smooth and vertical surfaces and even to run across smooth ceilings.
5. Walk on Water – In their efforts to avoid predators, geckos appear to be fast enough to sprint across the surface of a water body without sinking.
6. Tail regeneratable and Storehouse – A gecko’s tail serves in many species as a storehouse of fat upon which the animal can draw during unfavorable conditions.  The tail may also be extremely fragile and if detached is quickly regenerated in its original shape.

Fijian Skinks

Scientific – Phlum Chordata, Class – Reptilia, Order – Squamata, Suborder – Sauria, Family – Scinicidae

There are 12 types of skink (Known generally as Mokosari) in Fiji, above we have started our discovery of these amazing little reptiles with the four most common, which you would most likely discover on your travels, with some common characteristics found between the different types below,  we were pleasantly surprised to find they have a regenerative tail to help them escape predators…

6 Characteristics of the Skink

1. Skinks are successful colonizers of the Pacific Islands and occur on most, if not all, islands of several hectares or larger.
2. Skinks are slim lizards with smooth, shiny scales over their elongated cylindrical body. They have short necks and their legs are very small. Most skinks are striped but they may also be banded, spotted, or uniformly colored.
3. Skinks are quite small lizards usually not more than 200mm in total length, although some giant skinks can be greater than 300mm. Their heads are conical and they have round pupils.
4. Most species have slender tapering tails that are easily broken if caught by a predator but their tails can regenerate (autonomy). The loss of the tail does little harm to the skink as the caudal artery quickly closes to prevent excessive bleeding and the break does not occur between the tail bones (vertebrae).  Some skinks have brightly colored tails to attract predators away from their heads and body, especially in their juvenile phase. Females may retain their brightly colored tails but males will change to a more somber colour.  A new tail will regenerate but it will not be identical to the original because it is made up of fibrocartilaginous rods and nonsegmental muscle rather than skeletal vertebrae. Furthermore, the coloration of the scales is usually dull or altered indicating the animal has lost its original tail.
5. The most common skinks are seen during the day on the ground either lying on elevated ground litter, on rock surfaces, near logs, or scuttling under the vegetation and debris. They can move very quickly after basking in the sun.
6. The skinks in Fiji are insectivorous, although elsewhere some larger skinks are herbivorous.

What is the difference between a Gecko and a Skink?

Differences in Habitat

Geckos are mainly arboreal, meaning they prefer to reside on trees. If they have access to suitable food and shelter, they will often stay on the same tree or group of trees for their entire lives.  Skinks, on the other hand, live on the ground and hide in small crevices provided by rocks, logs, and in urban areas piles of debris, such as tires and roof tiles. They can also be found in overgrown areas, such as unmown areas along streams.