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Five-lined skink

Plestiodon fasciatus

Photo by Aaron_G
Published on Project Noah
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36.1524, -95.9904

Field Notes

Description:

This lizard has five pale, broad stripes on a dark background. An older male sometimes loses the five pale stripes and becomes solid brown. A female normally retains the light lines. Usually there is a dark, lateral stripe on the third and fourth scales down from the mid-dorsal line. During the breeding season, the male develops a red-orange color on his jaw. The juvenile has five pale stripes on a black body and a brilliant blue tail. Hatchlings, juveniles, and females have two light lines on the head. Usually, a five-lined skink has a postnasal scale, four upper labial scales anterior to the subocular scale, and two postlabial scales. It has shiny, smooth scales. (information from "A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Oklahoma")

Habitat:

City park

Notes:

This lizard is often confused with the juvenile form of the broad-headed skink. The five-lined skink has four upper labial scales (on the upper lip, between the rostral scale on the snout and the subocular scale under the eye) and it has two postlabial scales (at the corner of the mouth). The broad-headed skink has five upper labial scales and lacks or has one postlabial scale.

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Photographed
PublishedAugust 10, 2013

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