The Parietal "Eye"

[tgcorley]

Wali's Blue Tongue.JPG

A few months ago I took a picture that clearly shows the parietal (or third) "eye" on the head of my Northern BTS, Wali. You can see a little window on top of the head through which light enters. The "eye" is part of the pineal gland, which in humans is buried deep in the brain. It is believed that light stimulates the gland to release melatonin and other compounds that are involved in the regulation of the animal's circadian rhythms. Cool, no?

[hurricanejen]

Love it! These are super easy to see on a handful of species (bearded dragons in particular) but you don't always catch them easily in skinks. Great shot, thanks for sharing!

[Rani-May]

Ive always found this fascinating. My darkest skinks parietal, or third eye, appears very bright white just before shedding and is very clearly visible on a daily basis even from afar

[kenn]

Nice shot!
Thanks for sharing!

[Nae]

When he gets drunk, one of my dads friends drags people over to Zekes tank to educate them about parietal eyes...Hes very proud of knowing that snippet of info

[Jeff]

Very cool Mr. Corley. That is a great picture too! Very nice looking northern in my unbiased opinion.

[Emz3]

This is amazing! I had no idea! I will have to read up on this and look at my skink's head more closely! Thank you for sharing!

[dsteamn]

They are QUITE evident on newborn babies too, even if you don't know what you're looking for.

[Spindown]

LOL Nae thats funny. I thought this was the coolest thing ever when I found out about it