Geckos have a distinct narrowed neck with a flattened body, while skinks have necks that appear to be the same thickness as their heads, and their bodies have a longer, tubular shape. Skinks can blink, while geckos cannot. Skinks have full eyelids that enable them to blink to keep their eyes moist and clean. Geckos have fused eyelids and use their long tongues to lick their eyes, which adds moisture and removes debris.
Since most geckos are nocturnal, they tend to have narrow, vertical pupils to block light. Skinks have round pupils for natural daytime activity, such as basking on sun-warmed rocks. Geckos have loose, velvety skin, while skinks have tight, smooth skin. A gecko's skin is covered with tiny scales that give its skin a soft appearance. Skinks have larger, shiny scales. Geckos will shed skin as a whole piece or in large sections, while skinks shed small bits of skin in patches.
Additionally, many geckos have brighter colors than the dull browns and grays of most skinks. A more streamlined body shape allows skinks to move faster than geckos. Skinks grow from 6 — 13 inches in length. They have almost not neck, large reddish-orange colored heads with darker brown-gray striped, stocky bodies.
Like other skinks, the young have a bright blue tails and prominent stripes. Although adult male broadhead skinks are unmistakable, females and immature lizards are very similar in appearance to five-lined and southeastern five-lined skinks. Thus, small skinks are best identified by close examination of the scales: broadhead skinks have an enlarged row of scales under the tail and five labial scales situated along the upper lip between the nose and eye.
Although they may be found both on the ground and in trees, male broadhead skinks, are more often found in trees than any of the other southeastern skinks.
The adults are often seen carried away by predatory hawks who snatch them with their talons from the tops of trees. Young skinks are commonly found on fallen trees and under mulch or other debris. The average size of a goanna is anywhere from 4 to 4. Although they come in a variety of different colours, the most common hues found in endemic species with Australia are black, brown, and a mottled colour-combination of both. Goannas can run and climb quite efficiently, and will normally run from danger.
Just like snakes, goannas swallow their prey whole, and, like the Komodo dragon, it is reported that its saliva is a festering cocktail of bacteria, making its bite lethal. Skinks come in a wide variety of colours and are typified by their thin, shiny, almost snake-like appearance. They are relatively small and feed predominantly on insects.
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