Distribution: Eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
Habitat: Coconut plantations and rainforests.
Diet: Presumably small arthropods.
Max. length: 116 mm SVL (200 mm TL).
Reproductive strategy: Oviparous with clutches of a single egg.
The Jobi skink, named for Jobi Island to the northwest of New Guinea, is a large, wide-ranging species complex potentially containing several genetic but morphologically confusing species. This large skink belongs to the variegatus-group of genus Sphenomorphus, which possess longer, better developed limbs and stouter bodies than the slender, short-limbed skinks in the fasciatus-group. Only occasional specimens of Jobi skink were found inside the husk piles.
Sources for more information:
Donnellan, S.C. and K.P. Aplin. 1989. “Resolution of cryptic species in the New Guinean lizard, Sphenomorphus jobiensis (Scincidae) by electrophoresis.” Copeia 1989(1):81-88.
De Rooji, N. 1915. The reptiles of the Indo-Australian archipelago Vol.I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. E.J. Brill, Leiden. xiv+384.
Mys, B. 1988. “The zoogeography of the scincid lizards from North Papua New Guinea (Reptilia: Scincidae). I. The distribution of the species.” Bulletin de L'Institute Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. 58;127-183.