The specific name, greyii, is in honour of explorerGeorge Grey, who became Governor of South Australia and later Governor of New Zealand.[3] George Grey was born 14 April 1812 in Lisbon, Portugal. Inspired by Charles Sturt's discoveries in Australia, in 1836 Grey left to attempt to establish a settlement in Australia's north-west. He was knighted in 1848. After many accomplishments in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Grey returned to London in 1894 and died in 1898.[4]
One of Australia's most widespread and abundant lizards,[5] the common dwarf skink is found across Australia. It is found west of the Great Dividing Range. It is not recorded to occur in north-east Northern Territory, Cape York Peninsula, southern Victoria or Tasmania, but it is known to occur in all other areas of Australia.[6] The range of the common dwarf skink spans across approximately 93% of the continent.[7] A continuous occurrence record map can be found online at "Atlas of Living Australia" through this reference link.[8]
M. greyii is widespread and found in many different habitats. It is found in heaths, deserts, woodlands and grasslands.[6] It is also frequently found in urban environments, and is therefore fairly well known.[5] This skink is known to shelter underneath logs and rocks. It is often found moving through leaf litter on the ground while searching for its main food source of invertebrates.[6] It is widespread on a variety of soil types.[9]
M. greyii is a very small skink that grows up to 38–40 mm (1.5–1.6 in) in snout-to-vent length (SVL). The body is of light build and elongated.[6] It has smooth scales and four limbs. The forelimbs have four digits and the hindlimbs have five digits.[10] It is brownish grey to grey and has dorsal dashes that can form broken lines and broad dark upper lateral and white midlateral stripes.[9] The underbelly of the skink is usually white.[6] Breeding males can be distinguished as they have a yellow/orange flush on the underbelly as well as a pink flush on the throat.[9] Some populations can differ slightly in colour because of the different environments they inhabit.[5] The common dwarf skink has two supraciliary scales, the first is quite small and the second is contacting the supraocular scale.[9] It has 3 scales in a line between the eye and the nostril.[9]
The adult female common dwarf skink may lay 1-3 eggs in every clutch.[6]
M. greyii is one of a small number of vertebrate species that are known to reproduce by parthenogenesis.[11] A 2007 study discovered that M. greyii is able to reproduce by parthenogenesis as well as by sexual reproduction.[citation needed]Mitochondrial DNA revealed that parthenogenesis is able to occur in this species.[citation needed] Parthenogenesis is when eggs can mature without being fertilised into clones of the female.[citation needed] This process can occur in some non-mammal species.[citation needed]
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Menetia greyii, p. 108).
^"Grey, Sir George (1812–1898)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2022-10-24
^ abcdeWilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2021). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia (6th ed.). Wahroonga, NSW, Australia: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 408. ISBN978-1-92554-671-2.
Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN978-0643100350. (Menetia greyii, p. 655).
Gray JE (1845). Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. (Menetia greyii, new species, p. 66).
Peterson, Magnus; Metcalfe, Dean C. (2015). "Menetia greyii (Grey's Skink). Diet". Herpetological Review46 (4): 631–632.
Smyth, Michael; Smith, Meredith J. (1974). "Aspects of the Natural History of Three Australian Skinks, Morethia boulengeri, Menetia greyii, and Lerista bougainvillii ". Journal of Herpetology8 (4): 329–335.
