'Very, very unusual': Australian skink lays eggs, then gives birth to live baby

[Judi Lynn]

In world first, Sydney researchers observe lizard’s egg laying and live birth three weeks later from a single litter
Australian Associated Press
Wed 3 Apr 2019 01.10 EDT

Skinks may be much stranger than previously thought after researchers discovered a lizard that laid eggs and gave birth to live young in the one pregnancy.

Researchers at the University of Sydney observed a three-toed skink lay three eggs and weeks later give birth to a live baby.

“This is the first time that anyone has observed live birth and egg laying in a single litter in a vertebrate animal and it’s very, very unusual,” research author Camilla Whittington said.

Whittington said researchers knew the species was somewhat strange given it is “bimodally reproductive”. The skinks give birth to babies in some areas, such as northern NSW, but lay eggs in others, such as Sydney.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/03/very-very-unusual-australian-skink-lays-eggs-then-gives-birth-to-live-baby#img-1