Great Plains skink
| Great Plains skink | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Plestiodon |
| Species: | P. obsoletus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Plestiodon obsoletus | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
The Great Plains skink (Plestiodon obsoletus)[2] is a species of lizard endemic to North America.
Description
The Great Plains skink, together with the
This lizard is light gray or beige in color; its dorsal scales have black or dark brown edges. The scales on the sides run diagonally. The belly is yellow. Juveniles are black with white sports on the lips and the head and have a blue or bluish tail.[3]
Geographic range
The Great Plains skink is very common on the Great Plains, ranging from southeastern Wyoming and Nebraska (and also Fremont County, Iowa) southward to eastern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and into Mexico.[3]
Habitat
This skink lives in open plains habitat or the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, in areas near water, e.g. irrigation ditches. In southeastern Colorado, it occurs in elevation up to about 1900 m (7200 ft); in northern Colorado, only at elevations below about 1400 m (4500 ft).[3]
Reproduction
The mating season of the Great Plains skink is in April or May. The female lays between 5 and 32 eggs (on the average about 12) in early summer, which she guards until they hatch in late summer.[3]
References
Further reading
- Baird, S.F., and C.F. Girard. 1852. Characteristics of some New Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Second Part. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 6: 125-129. (Plestiodon obsoletum, p. 129.)
- ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Eumeces obsoletus, p. 575 + Plate 432.)
- Boulenger, G.A. 1887. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ, Scincidæ,... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers.) London. xii + 575 pp. + Plates I. XL. (Eumeces obsoletus, p. 374.)
- ISBN 0-395-19977-8(paperback). (Eumeces obsoletus, p. 125, Figure 28 + Plate 19 + Map 79.)
- ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Eumeces obsoletus, pp. 80–81.)
- ISBN 0-395-98272-3. (Eumeces obsoletus, pp. 310–311 + Plate 36 + Map 109.)
External links
- Great Plains Skink, on Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa
- "Great Plains skink" at the Encyclopedia of Life
