A great sense of fear has overcome me as of late starting in the late 90's with the fate of Northerns, Tiliqua Scincoides Intermedia.  As mentioned previously, the reptile world was inundated with a new, large and impressive blue tongue skink from the east Indonesian Islands, Irian Jaya in the early 90's. These new thoroughbreds of the skink world began to stake their claim as the dominant skink with their low price, wide availability and calm demeanor. With growing interest and enthusiasm, consumers began to snap up hundreds of these new skinks leaving many breeders of the Northerns lost in the aftermath. As in the past,  many of these same breeders who abandoned their Easterns for their more colorful and larger cousins, the Northerns, were forced to make a similar decision. So many of these old breeders  began to breed their Northerns less and less as their customers interest dwindled, crushed under the weight of the cheaper more easily obtained imports. As the irian Jayas flourished, the now lesser known Northerns began to disappear as many newcomers to the reptile hobby began to confuse them with any other Tiliqua.  In time, new breeders with little to no experience with the old time staples from Australia began to cross the Northerns with Irian Jayas out of ignorance while some unscrupulous breeders' greed and desire to create a new "morph"  crossed them knowing they were two different species of Tiliqua. It is sad at this point that I myself can name only a handful and I mean a handful of people who still have excellent  Northern stock whose histories are still credible.

Today, in the US, there seems to be a tremendous variability in the morphology of Northerns with an alarming number of sellers expounding claims that their skink's origin is pure Intermedia. Through the years, I have examined hundreds if not thousands of individuals arriving at a sad conclusion that a large and growing percentage of supposed true Northerns may be tainted by Eastern and/or Irian Jaya bloodlines. It is a growing trend for me to hear a seller at a show say, "Yep, that there is a pure Northern from Australia. It's a proven breeder and might even be gravid! What a steal of a deal!" As the seller held up an animal that looked more like a clown than a skink, I looked skeptically at the seller nodding vacantly. Yep, the seller does have something right; that its more of "steal" than a "deal."  From such experiences, a budding fear began to slowly materialize in my unconsciousness until one day it hit me. I ran back to my blue tongues, flung open the door as a sudden panic seized me. I was overcome with a new quandary that left my mind reeling as I wondered if I myself may had unwittingly purchased impure Intermedia so far removed from the sanctity of their native homeland; had I fallen for the cheap ploys of an unscrupulous seller?

As I alluded previously, my knowledge is founded on early exposure in the 1980's of direct observation and purchase of Australian stock prior to the importation of Irian Jaya Blue tongues to the USA.   Even with such experiences, I'm not so quick to say I am omniscient of Intermedia morphology especially without extensive studies in genetic histology and exposure of Intermedia in their natural environment.  However, I made concerted efforts to peruse as many materials as possible from a cornucopia of rag-tag resources from reptile stores and magazines such as Vivarium, Reptile and Amphibian and Reptile Breeding to visiting breeders' homes when the few (gracious) and rare opportunities presented itself. It was while I was studying in college in the late 80's that I decided to search my local university for texts on Australian fauna in hopes of finding more scientific research done on Tiliqua. The sun was shining brightly on the day I found an original 1975 first USA printing of Cogger's famous text that lay hidden and unappreciated by so many students who seem to have found more interesting topics dealing with financially lucrative endeavors that would grant them higher social status or fame.

Flipping through the pages, my fingers found near the appendix two black and white photos of an Eastern and Northern that seemed to come to life. But these pictures were nothing but tidbits to tease my mind, wetting my appetite for greater pictures of true Australian specimens.

Even with the advent of the internet, pictures of true intermedia were hard to come by. But my searching eventually lead me to the work of Paul Horner an early pioneer in Tiliqua research along side Glenn Shea who is truly a world expert today.

Paul Horner's famous photos of Tiliqua - especially those of Northerns brought back vivid memories of ones I bought and seen in my initiation into this blue tongue hobby. Horner's photos became my vision of a classic holotype of an Intermedia. Please take a long if not permanent look at this famous picture by Horner of a Classic Northern from Sleisbeck, Northern Territory.

Fig. A

Now take a look at Charlie, one of my Northerns noting the tremendous morphological similarities between these two specimens.

Fig. B

Even in the mid 90's I found it exceedingly difficult to find such specimens resembling Horner's photos as if they became an extinct species here in the US. Even now, since my catharsis,  I am extremely attentive to the morphological details these animals express (may it be in an animal for sale or in a collection). This selective attitude towards my Northerns  goes beyond them as it influences all my decisions on purchasing any animal.

One of the most conspicuous morphological trait I look for in Northerns are the ostensible portholes of alternating black and beige (can also be yellow, peach or tan). However I also pay CLOSE attention to the backs of these skinks. My observations reveal that Classic Northerns have at least two shades of brown and white flecks on the backs. Here you can see a light brown banding (majority of brown on the back of the skink), the light tan / beige scales in between rows of dark brown border scales.  You can also see the occasional white flecks mixed with the dark brown border scales that are so common in Intermedia and is usually absent in Irian Jayas.  There is a "morph" of Irian Jaya that has these flecks on their back but the pattern is not consistent to Northern morphology and should not elicit confusion.

Warning:  If a supposed "Northern" has clearly defined banding that lack the white speckling (the skink having very clear alternating bands with very clear distinction between each band), it is in my opinion that this animal may be suspect and possibly a hybrid between an  IJ and Northern. However you can not always assume this is a constant rule to follow. Many will people make claims about the  origin of their animals calling them true intermedia. It is however possible that this strange looking "northern" is just a weird Northern, a by-product of some combination of genes that created this particular suspect animal. How many confirmed hybrid or intergrade animals have you seen in pictures or in real life? If you find a suspect animal, I would avoid purchasing it UNLESS you have proof of their lineage. Even then it's hard to even take their "proof" seriously when the pictures can be taken of any Northern from the internet. I don't wish to be cynical but be careful of who you deal with and do your homework BEFORE committing to a purchase. Research this individual and their reputation. Think about this, are people in the reptile trade more inclined to call their animals "hybrids" or a "pure species" even if they know their animals are confirmed hybrids? Who is going to challenge them on this? How many sellers have you seen ADMIT their animals are mutts? Believe me only a rare few will admit this but those who do I commend them on their honesty. These breeders truly represent integrity that is so lacking in this hobby.

Here is another Northern from my collection:

Fig. C

Compared her to another picture of the same animal above from Sleisbeck, Northern Territory by Horner

Fig. D

Take a look at every single one of my Northerns - some may be light or dark but all appear consistent with Horner's photos with the exception of the James Wilson Caramels and a few Ray G. which were selected because of their unusual appearance. My orange line father, Ish (two pictures below), has the exact same qualities in pattern (as in the red/blue circles) but the color is in orange hues. However, I have worked on minimizing the black "portholes" on many of my oranges but they still have dark patches of orange or brown instead of the black due to the high orange coloration.

Fig. E

Fig. F

I have highlighted areas in red and blue for your observation. Note the scale pattern and color in the circled area. The pattern and design are almost identical. I have and seen Northerns with perfect unbroken banding (not patches) all the way down the skink.  Regardless, it should still look like the scale color pattern in the highlighted area. Compare the circle (patch of pattern) in red to the larger patch of pattern (band) in blue. They look the same outside of their respective differences in length. Also note that if you look at the flanks of a Northern the circled areas travel down turning into black "portholes." In Irian Jayas the banding is extremely uniform from top to the sides. You can take your finger and start from one side follow that band all the way across to the other side without interruption. You should never be able to do this with a Northern from top to bottom with every band. I have seen some Irian Jayas that look like Northerns but shouldn't be confused with them. Here is a picture of a true hybrid NorthernxIrianJaya. (picture by Carl Ackerbauer)

  Fig. G

If I didn't have all these years of experience with Tiliqua I might actually believe this animal to be a Northern however I will point out some distinctions between the two species.

1. Front limbs of Northerns are clean (without spotting with the exception of Kimberley Northerns and conspecifics close to their ranges) and  have the same color as the head of the skink while Irian Jayas have spotting on their front limbs. Note how this hybrid maintains the spotting so characteristic of tiliqua of Indonesia / Irian Jaya locale.
2. The majority of Irian Jayas lack any black on their sides but the ones that do at its closest equivalent to a Northern looks like this hybrid which is extremely disturbing. When you breed these hybrids to other skinks the traits of Northerns appear in varying degrees of poignancy so its best to avoid breeding skinks that look this way (an IJ having any black striping). Would you want to see babies that looked extremely Northern and full Irian Jaya in the same clutch? It's very disturbing to find out that what you may have is a hybrid IJxNorthern when you thought you had an Irian Jaya.
3. Tails have noticeable banding (unlike t.g.g. that have no banding) but classic intermedia has flecking/blur trait. Notice how clear the banding is on an Irian Jaya's tail. A northern's tail should appear blurred in varying degrees (see Easterns for definition of the 'blur' trait. Compare all the Northerns tails above with the hybrid's typical Irian Jaya tail. Also note that some Irian Jayas also have this trait but not to the degree that Northerns have nor the intensity of the blending (spotting within each scale) of black and whites in the tail. (Note the blurring of animal in Fig. G is due to the Northern traits mixing with Irian Jaya of this hybrid.
4. Tail length and thickness is another clear distinction between the two species. Northerns have full, thick tails while Irian Jayas have slim tapered tails very similar to Gigas species.
5. Irian Jayas show weight gain around their "chins" and throat like all gigas while Northerns gain weight more prominently in their bodies (lower) and tail.
6. Most Northerns have pointed heads while many Irian Jayas have fat heads. I do have imported Irian Jayas that have pointed heads so be careful with using just this trait to identify species.

Please use many 'IDENTIFIERS' (traits) to derive a conclusion of an animal's identity. It would be foolish to take just one trait as a basis to make an assessment of its identity.

If you want my honest advice I would buy:

1. A Northern with distinct and prominent peach, yellow or orange portholes with alternating black ones. Also, the stronger the black portholes (inverted triangles) the more I like them.
2. A Northern with strong speckling on their backs with numerous scales that have more than one color within each scale. (See Fig. B - the red circle)
3. A Northern should have very clean front limbs unless its from the Kimberley area but these are not available.
4. A Northern should have a tail that has banding but it is blurred throughout.
5. A Northern that closely resembles Paul Horner's pictures.
6. I would avoid ANY Northern that does not have the black "triangles" or blotches on the sides unless the lines can be proven to be true Australian and bred to be this way - I seriously can't find anyone but myself or Ray Gurgui who can say this but I'm sure there has to be some old timers that still have their old lines somewhere. Once again, AVOID a Northern without strong black blotches on its side. I also would avoid purchasing Irian Jayas with any black striping that appears perpendicular to its banding (black markings on its side but this should not be confused with the black patch on irian jaya's neck which James Wilson describes as common.  At this point of my studies it seems that the black striping in Irian Jayas are not common but it doesn't mean they are hybrids either. I just believe they are suspect at this point and in need of confirmation of wild specimens to fully validate their origins as being pure Irian Jaya. For now I'm steering clear of them. However I do have my mind open and am conducting research on Irian Jayas from specimens proven to be imports.

We can not get any new bloodlines of Australian animals - they haven't been legally imported since the 70's however on some rare occasion like a total eclipse of the sun or the return of Halley's comet, true Australian animals have come into the country from Europe. Also note that there are a lot of liars out there who claim their stock is pure and from Europe but don't believe them. I've just seen pictures of some "supposed" pure Australian lines from Europe that are without ANY DOUBT hybrids. So what are you waiting for? Are you going to count on this slim possibility of finding some pure stock this way? Think about it - what we have is a dying race of animals in the US unless people take a stance and see what is really happening to these skinks and all reptiles. I find it ironic how  so many people "bash" reptile breeders as if we're criminals or extortionists but what about the people who go out into the wild grab animals and continue, year after year, to bring in animals to the pet trade? How about the people who buy reptiles year after year?  If any stones are to be thrown make sure your own home isn't made of glass. I have come to the realization a long time ago that this is already a selfish endeavor - as is keeping most pets but at least I can help produce animals and protect the ones left in the wild by creating a self sustaining group that does not require more animals to be uprooted and removed from their native lands. This is why I believe many people need to work with Irian Jayas and Indonesian skinks so we don't have to support these importers who take hundreds from the wild every year.

My sincere hopes with this article is to help you in your decisions and inspire you to observe and learn about wild animals from their homelands through pictures if not more direct means.  Analyze and scrutinize those photos of native fauna and compare them to the animals being sold in today's market. You'll be shocked at the differences! Sometimes you'll see an animal IDENTICAL to their wild counterpart! I would buy that animal.

Lastly, if anyone here likes Ball Pythons or leopard geckos - am I right when I say that the pure, untainted leopard gecko or ball python is THE BEST LOOKING MORPH of all those available of these species? If that "simple" but natural design of these animals ever disappeared wouldn't it be an unthinkable tragedy? Wouldn't there be a loss that no words could even express fully? So even though I appreciate "morphs" we will lose the base  on which these species rest and the purity that goes along with them.

I want to thank everyone who had to endure hearing me say this speech in similar words many times. I hope I have provided you all with new or clearer information that will help with the understanding of our favorite reptile.