a really really big skink, and in fact much more impressive than say a blue-tongue skink because its not all slow and cumbersome, but rather more like a normal skink that has been greatly upsized - it retains its skink-like appearance and speed. Size is up to 20cm SVL, and up to 60cm total length (i.e. including the tail). It is apparently quite shy in the wild and this specimen was likewise quite skittish. This species is endemic to New Caledonia, but although widely recorded seems to be uncommon everywhere.
An even larger endemic species, [i]P. bocourti[/i], is known from only one specimen from 1876 and is believed to be extinct.
August 2010. Review here:
http://www.zoochat.com/92/parc-zoologique-et-forestier-169406/
