The Shingleback Lizard Tiliqua rugosa is a common and well-known skink species throughout much of Australia. Here we describe a novel interaction between a Shingleback Lizard and an agamid (dragon) lizard captured on a motion-triggered camera in Goobang National Park, NSW. The Shingleback is captured carrying the agamid lizard in its mouth, probably demonstrating either predation – not previously reported on agamid lizards – or interspecific competition. Camera traps are a widely used tool for surveying and monitoring wild animals; however, the species captured in this observation were not the target of this camera survey; this highlights the value of motion-triggered cameras for providing unique insights into the behaviour and ecology of both target and non-target species.
Nieuwhof et al. (Mon,) studied this question.