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Skink (Five-Lined)

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Eumeces fasciatus
Skink (Five-Lined)

Range

They are found here and there in southeastern Canada, on the western edge of New England to upstate New York, on Michigan’s lower peninsula, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, south to the Gulf Coast in eastern Texas, and northern Florida.

Habitat

They live in wet forests, swampy areas, drier rocky places, rotting stumps and woodpiles.

Body Traits

They are up to 8 inches long with 5 lights stripes on their dark body. Their scaly skin is shiny. Young skinks have a blue tail. As they get older the blue fades away and males get a reddish head.

Habits

When a predator grabs a skink by the tail, the tail will break off. It then wiggles to keep the predator busy until the skink can get away. It re-grows the tail later.

Diet

They eat spiders, insects, like: crickets and grasshoppers, and centipedes.

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District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Email for a quote: sheri@exploringnature.org.

Reproduction

The female eats the male after mating. Then lays 25 – 900 eggs in an oval, brown, papery egg sac. They hatch after about 3 weeks.

Skink (Five-Lined)

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Autarchoglossa
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Eumeces
Species: E.fasciatus

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