How to ID Tiliqua Gigas species
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:57 am
Basic Tiliqua Gigas IDing (written by Fatal_S). 
This is my personal checklist for Indo/Merauke/IJ.
A very pure Indo should have:
- Inky-black front legs
- Dark spider-web outlining on the top of the head
- The bands should be thin and undefined and one-color
- The body should be long and skinny
- The back and tail should appear very mottled
- Colors of silver/yellow/brown with black bands/speckles
Some examples of member's Indos:
Thanks to Krista for the Indo pictures!
A classic Merauke should have:
- Black front legs with white speckles
- Little-to-no outlining on the top of the head
- One stripe down back of neck
- The bands should be thin and defined and one/two colors
- The body should be long and skinny
- The back and tail should be clear between bands
- Colors of silver/tan with brown/black bands
Some pictures:
Photos by Susann and Katrina
A classic IJ should have:
- Clear or speckled front legs
- Little-to-no outlining on the top of the head
- Three stripes/trident down back of neck
- The bands should be thick and defined and two colors
- The body should be shorter and fatter
- The back and tail should be clear between bands
- Colors of all kinds of yellows/browns/reds
Examples of member's IJs:
Thanks to SapphireTigress1, Zakkhogan and Susann for these pictures!
So that's my definition of the classic forms of Indo/Merauke/IJ.
The thing that complications IDing is there are two more recent looks to these types of skinks. There's what we've been calling the New Merauke, and there's the Halmahera Indo.
The New Merauke is a Merauke that seems to have more IJ traits. Basically they're a bit more colorful and the bands are thicker than on a the older Classic Meraukes that used to be found. This type is somewhat confusing for me, but there are some stunning example that people on this forum own.
Some pictures:
Photos by Katrina
The Halmahera Indos are quite new, and are pretty easy to distinguish from Classic Indos. They've got dark 'warpaint' marking on their faces, the bands are very thick and dark, and they're not very mottled.
More info can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=22347
This is my personal checklist for Indo/Merauke/IJ.
A very pure Indo should have:
- Inky-black front legs
- Dark spider-web outlining on the top of the head
- The bands should be thin and undefined and one-color
- The body should be long and skinny
- The back and tail should appear very mottled
- Colors of silver/yellow/brown with black bands/speckles
Some examples of member's Indos:
Thanks to Krista for the Indo pictures!
A classic Merauke should have:
- Black front legs with white speckles
- Little-to-no outlining on the top of the head
- One stripe down back of neck
- The bands should be thin and defined and one/two colors
- The body should be long and skinny
- The back and tail should be clear between bands
- Colors of silver/tan with brown/black bands
Some pictures:
Photos by Susann and Katrina
A classic IJ should have:
- Clear or speckled front legs
- Little-to-no outlining on the top of the head
- Three stripes/trident down back of neck
- The bands should be thick and defined and two colors
- The body should be shorter and fatter
- The back and tail should be clear between bands
- Colors of all kinds of yellows/browns/reds
Examples of member's IJs:
Thanks to SapphireTigress1, Zakkhogan and Susann for these pictures!
So that's my definition of the classic forms of Indo/Merauke/IJ.
The thing that complications IDing is there are two more recent looks to these types of skinks. There's what we've been calling the New Merauke, and there's the Halmahera Indo.
The New Merauke is a Merauke that seems to have more IJ traits. Basically they're a bit more colorful and the bands are thicker than on a the older Classic Meraukes that used to be found. This type is somewhat confusing for me, but there are some stunning example that people on this forum own.
Some pictures:
Photos by Katrina
The Halmahera Indos are quite new, and are pretty easy to distinguish from Classic Indos. They've got dark 'warpaint' marking on their faces, the bands are very thick and dark, and they're not very mottled.
More info can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=22347