 Range in California: Red
Green: Coronado Skink
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Adult, Siskiyou County |
Adult, Modoc County |
Adult, Glenn County |
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Adult, Santa Clara County |
Adult showing orange breeding color, February, Santa Clara County |
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Juvenile, Contra Costa County |
Juvenile, Napa County |
Underside of an adult, San Bernardino County, showing orange breeding coloring |
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Adult, San Luis Obispo County |
Breeding adult, San Luis
Obispo County |
Note that the dark stripes on the sides of the tail on the Western Skink extend far onto the tail unlike the stripes on juvenile Gilbert's Skinks. Compare |
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Adult, Humboldt County |
Adult, Contra Costa County |
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Adult with breeding colors, Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
Adult, Sutter Buttes, Sutter County.
© Jackson Shedd.
Specimen courtesy of Eric Olson. |
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Comparison of juvenile skinks:
Top: E. s. skiltonianus - Modoc County
Bottom: E. gilberti - Kings County
© Patrick Briggs
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Rocky habitat along ridgeline in chaparral/grassland, Contra Costa County |
Riparian woodland/grassland Habitat, Contra Costa County |
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Habitat, coastal mixed woodlands/grasslands Monterey County
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Habitat, forest clearing, Humboldt County |
Rocky mixed woodland montane Habitat, Napa County
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Mixed woodland/grassland habitat next to a reservoir, Contra Costa County |
Streamside habitat in coniferous forest, Mendocino County (found wintering under bark on downed tree.) |
Sandy coastal habitat, San Luis Obispo County |
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Mixed coniferous forest habitat, Santa Clara County
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Montane habitat, 6,200 ft., San Bernardino County |
| Description |
| Size |
| 2 1/8 - 3 2/5 inches long from snout to vent (5.4 - 8.6 cm) and aproximately 7.5 inches in total length. |
| Appearance |
A small skink with a slim body, small head, thick neck, small legs, and a smooth, shiny body with cycloid scales.
Striped with 3 dark brown and light cream stripes: A wide dark brown stripe, edged with black, extends from the nose to the tail down the middle of the back, bordered by two pale stripes which extend from the nose over the eye to the tail. Two more very dark stripes extend down each side through the eyes, to the tail, where they extend well out onto the tail. Two more pale stripes extend below these dark side stripes. The underside is pale or gray.
The tail is gray or dull blue on older adults, and bright blue on juveniles. Younger adults often retain some of the bright blue coloring. The stripes on juveniles are more highly contrasted than on adults.
During the breeding season, adults develop reddish orange coloring on the side of head, chin, on the tail, and sometimes the sides. |
| Behavior |
Diurnal, but secretive and not typically seen active. Occasionally seen foraging in leaf litter. More commonly found underneath bark and surface objects, especially rocks, where it lives in extensive burrows. Inactive in cold weather.
The tail is easily broken off. When detached, it writhes back and forth to distract a predator while the lizard escapes. The lizard will grow a new tail. The bright blue coloring on the tail of a juvenile skink tends to distract a predator from the main body of the lizard. Sometimes only the blue tail can be seen as the lizard rushes through grass or leaves. I have received several requests to identify a very small blue snake seen wriggling along, for which the only explanation is that the blue snake was actually the tail of a juvenile skink and the main body of the lizard was not observed. |
| Diet |
| Insects, and other small invertebrates, especially spiders and sow bugs. |
| Reproduction |
| Lays 2 - 10 eggs in June and July which hatch in late July and August. Females guard their eggs until they hatch. |
| Range |
In California, found throughout the north, and in the northern Sierra Nevada and foothills, in the north and south coast mountain ranges, extending south to the southern California coast where E. s. interparietalis takes over. Also found in the southern Sierra Nevada on the Kern Plateau, the Greenhorn and Piute mountains, and east of the Sierra Nevada in isoloated locations. Also present on Santa Catalina Island. Not present in the southern deserts and much of the central valleys.
Outside of California, Eumeces skiltonianus ranges north into inland British Columbia, and east into Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and northcentral Arizona, and south to the southern tip of Baja California.
From sea level up to around 8,300 ft. (2,530 meters). |
| Habitat |
| Grassland, woodlands, pine forests, sagebrush, chaparral, especially in open sunny areas such as clearings and the edges of creeks and rivers. Prefers rocky areas near streams with lots of vegetation. Also found in areas away from water. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
Currently, several subspecies of Eumeces skiltonianus are recognized, including E. s. utahensis, and E. s. interparietalis. Some taxonomists do not recognize the southern California subspecies E. s. interparietalis. They group it with E. s. skiltonianus.
Brandley et al. (2005 Syst. Biol. 54:373-390) replaced Eumeces with Plestiodon.
The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles has adopted the use of Plestiodon in the sixth edition of their Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America north of Mexico list. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Scincidae |
Skinks |
| Genus |
Eumeces (=Plestiodon) |
Great Skinks (=Toothy Skinks) |
| Species |
skiltonianus |
Western Skink |
Subspecies
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skitonianus |
Skilton's Skink |
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Original Description |
Eumeces skiltonianus - (Baird and Girard, 1852) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Eumeces - Greek - eu- good or nice and mekos length or height
skiltonianus - honors Skilton, Avery J.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Western Skink
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
E. g. cancellosus - Variegated Skink
E. g. gilberti - Greater Brown Skink
E. g. placerensis - Northern Brown Skink
E. g. rubricaudatus - Western Red-tailed Skink
E. s. interparietalis - Coronado Skink
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Lizards, Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Cornell University Press, 1946.
Brown et. al. Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society,1995.
Nussbaum, R. A., E. D. Brodie Jr., and R. M. Storm. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. Moscow,
Idaho: University Press of Idaho, 1983.
St. John, Alan D. Reptiles of the Northwest: Alaska to California; Rockies to the Coast. Lone Pine Publishing, 2002.
Lemm, Jeffrey. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Diego Region (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, 2006.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This animal is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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