Five-Lined Skink
(Eumeces
fasciatus) |
 |
DESCRIPTION: 5-8 1/16" (12.7-20.5
cm). Black or brown with 5 broad light stripes, including
dorsolateral stripe along 3rd and 4th scale rows counting from
middle of back. Stripes fade with age; adults may be uniform
brown. Tail blue to gray. Wide lengthwise row of scales under
tail. Breeding males usually have red-orange head. Juveniles
have brilliant striping, bright blue tail.
STATUS:
RANGE: 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 .
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.
HABITAT: 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.
SPECIAL HABITAT:
FOOD: Insects, earthworms, crustaceans,
lizards and small mice |
