 Range in California: Green
Red: Skilton's Skink
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Adult, San Diego County |
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Adult, San Diego County |
Adult, San Diego County |
Adult, San Diego County |
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Adult, underside, San Diego County |
Adult, San Diego County |
Adult, San Diego County |
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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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Habitat |
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Habitat, coastal sage scrub hilltop,
San Diego County
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Habitat, coastal valley, San Diego County |
Habitat, coastal valley, San Diego County |
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Montane habitat, Laguna Mountains,
San Diego County |
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| 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. |
| Characteristics of Subspecies of Plestiodon skiltonianus |
P. s. interparietalis
Interparietal enclosed by the parietals in 80 per cent of the population. Stripes of the body pattern extended onto anterior half or more of tail.
P. s. skiltonianus
Interparietal rarely enclosed by the parietals. Usually less than 10 per cent even in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties; and/or stripes of body pattern not extended on more than the base of the tail.
Dorsolateral stripe narrow not occupying more than half of either the second or third scale rows, diameter of stripe noticeably less than half the width of the dark dorsal interspace. Dark stripe below the lateral light stripe usuallly present. Diameter of the dorsolateral stripe usually less than the length of the first nuchal.
P. s. utahensis
Dorsolateral stripe occupying more than half of the second scale row and being nearly one half the diameter of the dark dorsal interspace. Dark stripe below lateral light stripe rarely present. Diameter of the dorsolateral stripe usually greater than the length of the first nuchal.
From:
Tanner, Wilmer W.Tanner, Wilmer W. "A Taxonomic and Ecological Study of the Western Skink (Eumeces skiltoniaus.) The Great Basin Naturalist Vol. XVII. 1957, pp. 59 - 94.) The Great Basin Naturalist Vol. XVII. 1957, pp. 59 - 94.
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| 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 |
This subspecies is found in inland Southern California south through the north Pacific coast region of northern Baja California.
The species Plestiodon skiltonianus ranges north along the coastal ranges, throughout Northern California north of the Central Valley, into British Columbia, and in the northern Sierra Nevada and foothills. 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. Ranges east into Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and northcentral Arizona.
From sea level up to around 8,300 ft. (2,530 meters). |
| Habitat |
| Grassland, woodlands, pine forests, 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 P. skiltonianus are recognized, including P. s. utahensis, and P. s. interparietalis. Some taxonomists do not recognize the southern California subspecies P. s. interparietalis. They group it with P. 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) |
| A California species of special concern due to habitat loss. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Scincidae |
Skinks |
| Genus |
Plestiodon (formerly Eumeces) |
Toothy Skinks |
| Species |
skiltonianus |
Western Skink |
Subspecies
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interparietalis |
Coronado Skink |
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Original Description |
Eumeces skiltonianus - (Baird and Girard, 1852) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 69
Eumeces skiltonianus interparietalis - Tanner, "1957" 1958 - Great Basin Naturalist, Vol. 17, p. 73
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
The Common Name "Coronado Skink" refers to the origin of the type specimen:
Type: California Academy of Sciences No. 13576, an adult male, collected on South Coronado Island, Baja California, Mexico, 7 April 1908, by Rollo Beck.
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
(Eumeces - Greek - eu- good or nice and mekos length or height)
Plestiodon = ?
skiltonianus - honors Skilton, Avery J.
interparietalis - Latin - inter - between, and parietalis - pertaining to walls
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Coronado Island Skink
Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus - Skilton's Skink
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
P. g. cancellosus - Variegated Skink
P. g. gilberti - Greater Brown Skink
P. g. placerensis - Northern Brown Skink
P. g. rubricaudatus - Western Red-tailed Skink
P. s. skiltonianus - Skilton's Skink
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Lemm, Jeffrey. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Diego Region (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, 2006.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
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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.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
DFG:SSC |
California Species of Special Concern |
| Bureau of Land Management |
BLM:S |
Sensitive |
| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G5T2T3QS1S2 |
Secure |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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None |
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