How can a fish swim in the desert? When it's actually a reptile! The sandfish is in fact a skink that slithers through loose sand so easily that it seems like it's swimming. This reptile is perfectly adapted to a desert life; it uses the sand not only to hide from dangerous predators, but also to detect the movement of prey. The sandfish picks up the vibrations made by small animals when they disturb even the tiniest grains of sand.
Shovel Snout: This creature's extra-long snout may look odd, but it's the sandfish's way of adapting to desert life, The creature uses its nose like a shovel, digging into soft sand and tossing it aside so it can burrow underground or move through the sand with ease.
Clawless: The sandfish doesn't have claws on its feet like most lizards. Instead, it has wide scales on its toes. Sharp claws would sink into the sand, but the scales are wide and give the lizard solid footing.
Good Vibrations[]
A trio of sandfish test the desert sand for signs of nearby prey.
The sandfish has an interesting way of finding prey and staying out of danger. The reptile's ears are mostly covered by a flap of scales so its hearing isn't very good, but the flaps are excellent for detecting the faintest vibrations made by other animals in the sand. When underground, the skink can feel shifting sands made by animals up to eight inches away. While foraging above ground, the sandfish often sticks its head in the sand to check for the movement of prey.
Swimmingly: The sandfish's scales are ultra-smooth. The creature "swims" through the sand by rippling its body like a snake rather than using its legs, and its scales help it glide with little friction, as if in water.
Gotcha! When this creature hunts, it often sits buried in the sand, motionless, as it "listens" for prey. The sandfish breaks the surface in an explosion of sand when it detects an insect above it.
Hold the Dung Ball[]
- As a dung beetle rolls its load across the desert, it passes several small mounds of loose sand. It pays little attention to them, not realizing that a predator is hidden beneath one. In a flash, a sandfish explodes onto the surface and attacks.
- The sandfish snaps the dung beetle up in its mouth, killing it with just a few crunches from its strong jaws. Leaving the dung ball behind, the sandfish quickly dives back into the sand and "swims" off to set up another ambush somewhere else.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- The sandfish is one of two skinks featured, along with the Shingleback Skink.
- As the species is listed as "Scincus/various" on the card, the specific species in the photo on the back left is possibly the common skink (scincus scincus).
- The title of the main section on the back of the knowledge card, "Good Vibrations", is the title of a Beach Boys song. It shares this with the Raft Spider, Emperor Scorpion, Old World Scorpion.
- It is the only non-arachnid to use the title.