Identification
The Five-lined
Skink is easily confused with the Broadhead Skink, but can be distinguished
from its considerably smaller size and the presence of only 26-30 rows of scales
along its back. Adult lizards are typically brownish in color, and males can
be identified from their orangish or reddish heads. Females can also be differentiated
on sight: they have five light lines down their sides. Juveniles are dark with
five whitish or yellowish stripes and a bright blue tail, however this coloration
tends to fade with age.
Distribution and Status
The Five-Lined Skink ranges naturally from the western edge of New England to
adjacent New York, southeastern Ontario, Michigan’s lower peninsula, eastern
and southern Wisconsin, eastern Iowa and Kansas, south through the Gulf Coast
in eastern Texas, and through northern Florida (US
distribution map; Midwest
distribution map). Most Five-lined Skink populations
are fragmented. In the Midwest, this species lives in all eight states, and
is listed as a species of Special Concern in Minnesota.
Ecology
A woodland reptile, the Five-lined Skink can tolerate shady or moist conditions,
and can be found in swampy forests, ravines, and at the margins of bodies of
water. They can also be found in drier areas such as rocky hillsides where they
live under rocks, stumps or wood piles.
Threats and Management Issues
Five-lined Skinks can benefit from selective logging operations, but the outright
clearing of woodlands causes population declines.
Resources
General reference guides and websites.
Links to information on the Five-lined Skink outside the Herp Center
Illinois Natural History Survey
Reptiles and Amphibians of Minnesota
Bruce Kingsbury, Director
Center for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation and Management
Science Building
Indiana-Purdue University
2101 East Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499