Plestiodon inexpectatus Southeastern Five-lined Skink
Matheson Hammock Park, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, FloridaDecember 31, 1998
Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
This wary skink only let me get one long-distance photo before gliding away under the palm log. There are three species of skinks in Florida that are nearly indistinguishable without checking the scale patterns closely. Fortunately for my identification purposes, the other two don't make it down to south Florida.
Mahogany Hammock Boardwalk, Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County, FloridaFebruary 22, 2004
Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus) Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
Finally, more than five years later, I stumbled across a second one of these relatively common skinks, and this one was a little more cooperative. It was basking on the boardwalk in the morning sun.
This one is an adult, having lost the blue color from its tail. The red jowls give it away as a male in breeding season.
Stephen C. Foster State Park, Charlton County, GeorgiaMay 3, 2004
Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
The dorsolateral stripes on this skink's back intersect the fourth and fifth scale row counting from the midline of the back. Therefore it's a Southeastern Five-lined Skink and not a Broad-headed Skink or a Common Five-lined Skink. See, you learn something new every day.
Corkscrew Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary, Collier County, FloridaApril 5, 2008
Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
This is essentially a crisper equivalent of my first photo of this species from 1998.
Corkscrew Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary, Collier County, FloridaApril 3, 2010
Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
Here's an older individual from the same area as the one in the previous photo.
Canaveral Marshes, Brevard County, FloridaMarch 26, 2011
Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
And a handsome specimen in the prime of life, keeping a wary eye on me.
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