Talk:Solomon Islands skink

message: *title is a misnomer - it's all etymology.
* 
"Its common names refer to its fully prehensile tail ..." What common names?

:Taxo is coming...
::I'd like to see a bit more of the higher level classification, and what their closest relatives are. -- Philcha (talk)
:::Me too, it's a bitch finding that stuff where I can source it reliably.  Scincidae is not as well organized or researched as Iguanidae (my specialty).--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 15:55, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Taxonomy and etymology

message: * 
Re the measurements, Template:convert is nice because it does the arithmetic and handles the spacing per WP:MOS. OK, MOS should not be such a big deal for GA, but the temlpate's so hnady I even use it in Talk pages!

* "Like snakes, they "smell" by flicking their tongues and use of a Jacobsen's organ" is awkward and you should explain the jargon (e.g. chemical sensor in the roof of the mouth).
*There are 2 paras about dimensions.
:Now just one.
::Well one and a bit, but a sub-section explaining differences between the sub-species is good. -- Philcha (talk) 20:27, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Biology

message: *"The Philadelphia Zoo has bred these skinks over multiple generations" - how about "The Philadelphia Zoo has bred N generations of these skinks" - with value of N?
An excellent suggestion, when I get the exact number and a source I'll put it in!
* 
"These skinks" in 2 successive sentences and then "Corucia" - I'd forgotten the genus name. I sugges you go back through the text and use the genus name about every 3 - 5 sentences. And it shoudl be italicised.

:Fixed, that's one of the gremlins trying to help, he means well but doesn't understand wiki.
*" which can be a useful marker for tracking digestive passage in individuals" sounds like and ad for one of these "probiotic" yogurts - "aids digestive transit". What does it really mean? 
:I just pulled it.
Hope I haven't been too nit-picky! -- Philcha (talk) 23:36, 2 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: All good and valid points, thanks...I didn't add that last bit, about the "marker", I'd remove it but old kid keeps putting it back.--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 23:40, 2 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Tell your helper that the point needs a ref and more reader-friendly wording. With a bit of guidance such editors can be very useful - Wikiproject Chess has one who, after a few gentle hints, became very productive and recently got a Barnstar for his contributions. -- Philcha (talk) 07:34, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: In captivity

message: *It struck me after I'd switched off my computer that there's nothing about how the skinks got to these islands.
*Is there any evidence of island speciation? I read something last year (? New Scientist) about a species on a Mediterreanean island that split into 2 species in a very few centuries. It would be another chance to add a "Wow, that's interesting" sizzle. -- Philcha (talk)
Back in 1992-93 when I was living in Florida, I was part of the "reptile circuit".  I remember standing in a barn on the West Coast of Florida after a Solomons shipment had come in, noticing that the new skinks being brought in had the same size and shape of the skinks I was keeping, but the colors were vastly different.  Some had hades of blue, some dark chocolate brown, etc.  I was younger and very concerned with "subspecies" and which island this one came from, etc.  The importer told me "They're all the same species, so pick what you want." And that was the end of that one.  I wish I would had more time and money back then to have bought as many varieties that I saw for my own studies(I was more of a snake guy, though).  There is much speculation in the literature about speciation etc, same as with Cycluras, but all it does is remind us of how much we still have left to learn.--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 13:20, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Points that perhaps should be covered

message: *its - belonging to it; it's = it is -- Philcha (talk) 13:55, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Grammar

message: This article has a very well detailed account about the lizard, but is a little lacking in the details about their behaviors. The lead is especially great at laying out details of the lizard, but some of the information mentioned there is not discussed anywhere else in the later sections. It mentions they have social groups in the lead but then doesn’t really expand on it in the article. Information regarding how they behave in group environments and what benefits it brings them or how they compete for resources would be good. It also doesn’t mention what common predators there are for the lizard, it just talks about how humans have caused their populations to be damaged. Maybe some more detail about natural predators that they have in the wild would be helpful. It also mentions they are aggressive towards those not in their family, but doesn’t go into detail on what behaviors they exhibit to display their aggression. Do they simply show displays of aggression to scare each other off or do they actually have fights over territory? Emshen526 (talk) 03:51, 24 September 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Behavior