On the introduction of the Australian skink into Singapore Island. Records of the Raffles Museum, No. 12
This short note by F. N. Chasen, published in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (Vol. 3, No. 1, 1925), documents the discovery of the Australian scink Egernia depressa in Singapore and places it within a broader discussion of artificially introduced reptile and amphibian species on the island.
Chasen begins by reviewing the introduction of the bull-frog Kaloula pulchra and the tokay gecko Gekko verticillatus into Singapore, noting their confinement to urban areas as evidence of artificial introduction (p. 100). He then turns to the Australian scink, reporting that a specimen of Egernia depressa (Gunth.) was captured near the Tanjong Pagar docks, and that four other Egernia specimens in the Raffles Museum were presumably also taken on the island (p. 100–101). The species is described as roughly the size of the common garden scink Mabuia multifasciata but distinguished by its stumpy tail and rows of backwardly directed spines. Chasen attributes the introduction to timber-carrying boats from south-western Australian ports, and notes the species’ confinement to the dock area as evidence it had not yet spread beyond its point of arrival (p. 101).