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The broad-headed skink, P. laticeps, is similar, and may be difficult to distinguish from P. fasciatus. The former species usually lacks the two enlarged postlabial scales characteristic of P. fasciatus. [7] [8] Adult male broad-headed skinks, with their large size and swollen red head, are readily distinguished from P. fasciatus. [9]
Together with the Great Plains skink it is the largest of the "Plestiodon skinks", growing from a total length of 15 cm (5.9 in) to nearly 33 cm (13 in). A male broad-headed skink, illustration from Holbrook's North American Herpetology, 1842. The broad-headed skink gets its name from the wide jaws, giving the head a triangular appearance.
Other large members in the genus Plestiodon are a broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps) and a Great Plains skink (Plestiodon obsoletus) with a maximum length of 32.4 cm (12.8 in) [163] and 34.9 cm (13.7 in) [164] and a SVL 14.3 cm (5.6 in) [163] and 14 cm (5.5 in) [165] respectively. The genus Chalcides includes many legless or almost ...
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The coal skink mates in spring or early summer, laying a clutch of 8 or 9 eggs. Their eggs are typically around 10–11 mm in length. [5] Courting for this species usually involves the male's initial investigation and recognition of a potential female through pheromonal cues. [6]
The conspicuous coloring of species of Plestiodon is a survival trait: it attracts a predator's attention to the tail of the animal, which will break off when grabbed. A skink thus often manages to escape and hide under some rock, log, or fallen leaves while the predator still contemplates the wildly thrashing severed tail.
Plestiodon gilberti, commonly known as Gilbert's skink, is a species of heavy-bodied medium-sized lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and grows to about 7 to 12 cm (3 to 4.5 in) in total length (including tail).
The middle stripe tends to be narrower than the others, and the dark areas between stripes are black in young skinks but become brown with age. A similar lizard, the common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), is slightly smaller than the southeastern five-lined skink and has broader stripes. However, it is difficult to discriminate between ...