Species:
Plestiodon inexpectatus
Southeastern Five-lined Skink
December 31, 1998
Matheson Hammock Park, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, Florida

This wary skink only let me get one long-distance photo before gliding away under the palm log. There are three species of skinks in Florida that are nearly indistinguishable without checking the scale patterns closely. Fortunately for my identification purposes, the other two don't make it down to south Florida.
February 22, 2004
Mahogany Hammock Boardwalk, Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County, Florida


Finally, more than five years later, I stumbled across a second one of these relatively common skinks, and this one was a little more cooperative. It was basking on the boardwalk in the morning sun.
This one is an adult, having lost the blue color from its tail. The red jowls give it away as a male in breeding season.
This one is an adult, having lost the blue color from its tail. The red jowls give it away as a male in breeding season.
May 3, 2004
Stephen C. Foster State Park, Charlton County, Georgia

The dorsolateral stripes on this skink's back intersect the fourth and fifth scale row counting from the midline of the back. Therefore it's a Southeastern Five-lined Skink and not a Broad-headed Skink or a Common Five-lined Skink. See, you learn something new every day.


