common five-lined skink

LC - Least Concern

N5 - Secure

S3 - Vulnerable

Special Concern

Species in Greatest Conservation Need

The upper (dorsal) surface has 5 distinct yellow stripes running from the head to the tip of the tail. The central stripe splits in two forming a "Y" on the top of the head.

Juveniles have a bright blue tail. Adult females have a bluish-gray tail. Adult males have a gray tail.

5″ to 8½″

Prairie skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis) lacks the "Y" shaped mark on the top of the head.

Six-lined racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus) has three stripes on each side.

Moist but not wet wooded areas with rock outcrops, including bluffs, forest edges, and savannas.

When attacked by a predator, the skink will detach its tail. The tail will continue to wiggle and distract the predator while the skink seeks cover. The tail will regrow but will not be as long or as colorful as the original.

5 to 7 years

Crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and other insects; spiders; and snails.

Sources

4, 6, 14, 29, 30, 74, 76, 78.

Scattered populations in only seven or eight Minnesota counties

Five-lined skink was formerly classified as Eumeces fasciatus. Recently, two separate studies, Smith (2005) and Brandley et al. (2005), proposed separating all species in North America north of Mexico into the genus Plestiodon. This was accepted by Crother (2008) and by Collins and Taggart (2009). Most sources now use this new classification. ITIS still classifies North American skinks in the genus Eumeces.

Location: Yellow Medicine County