Five Lined Skink BehaviourĪn adult male Five Lined Skink or Blue Tailed Skink is an extremely territorial species and will defend their territory against other males. This species shares much of its geographical range with other common species of reptiles including the Eastern Indigo Snake and the Eastern Racer. They can sometimes be found on roads basking in the sun. This ground dwelling lizard will also inhabit rocky areas where they can retreat into crevices in the rock if they feel threatened. The Blue Tailed Skink can be found in a wide range of habitats but the tend to prefer wooded areas with plenty of fallen leaves and branches for cover and security. They can also be found further inland and their range covers all states extending as far West as Eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. This includes states such as Maryland Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia. It can be found throughout all of the coastal states extending down into Florida. In the Northern portion of its range, this Skink can be found in parts of Southern Ontario, Michigan Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New York and Massachusetts. This is one of the most common lizards within its range. They can also be found in parts of Southern Canada. The Blue Tailed Skink or Five Lined Skink is native to much of the Eastern United States. Tony Alter, CC by 2.0, via Flickr Natural Habitat and Distribution Sometimes the 5 lines will be visible along the tail while other specimens will lose the markings on the tail. This results in a dull brown or grey coloration in adults. This usually ends in a uniform brown coloration, although the 5 lines are still present and run the length of the lizard’s body. This is where the lizard gets its other common name, the Blue Tailed Skink.Īs the lizard matures, the body color begins to brighten. This blue coloration is particularly bright in younger specimens but starts to fades as the lizard ages. The tail of a juvenile is bright blue in color. This is where they get the common name Five Lined Skink. They have five very distinct white or yellow lines that run the length of their body. Juvenile Skinks are dark brown to black in color. A baby lizard has a completely different appearance to a mature adult. The American Five Lined Skink goes through a dramatic change as the species matures. Around half of this length is made up of the tail which is very long and tapered.
The Blue Tailed Skink is a relatively small species of lizard that typically grows to around 5-8 inches in length. The scientific name for the Blue Tailed Skink or Five Lined Skink is Plestiodon fasciatus. They weren’t placed into the genus Plestiodon until 2004. The Five Lined Skink was actually one of these species that was previously categorized under the genus Eumeces. With such a large number of species in the genus, things are constantly changing and debate about different species will probably never end. Many of the species in this genus used to be classified under the closely related genus Eumeces. The genus is part of the sub-family Scincinae. This is a large genus of Skinks that contains 50 different species at the time of writing. The genus that the Blue Tailed Skink belongs to is called Plestiodon. Some desert species are even ‘sand swimmers’. They can be terrestrial, arboreal or a burrowing species. With such a large number of species, it is easy to see why the behaviour of skinks is so diverse. The most common characteristic of skinks is their proportionally small legs in comparison to their body. This species can be found throughout most of the globe, except for the artic and sub-artic regions as it is too cold for them there. This is a massive family of lizards with over 100 different genera and over 1500 species currently recognised. This is simply the scientific name for the Skink family. The Blue Tailed Skink belongs to the Scincidae family of lizards. Will Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Blue Tailed Skink Taxonomy
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