top of page
Five-lined Skink
Plestiodon fasciatus
Image by Unknown
Description
A smooth, glossy skink with five pale stripes and, in the young, a brilliant blue tail. Indiana's most familiar lizard.
Stats
Size
5 - 8 inches
Status
Common
Similar Species
Broadhead Skink, Six-lined Racerunner
Diet
Insectivore. Also feeds on spiders and other invertebrates.
Habitat
Sparse to open woodlands with damp, rotting logs. It is also found on rocky hillsides. They tolerate damp or moist conditions. Found throughout much of the Midwest and eastern United States to Michigan and eastern Wisconsin. Occurs almost state wide in Indiana.
Reproduction
Courtship and mating occurs in spring. This species is oviparous and 4 to 8 eggs may be deposited under flat stones, rotting wood, or under loose bark. Eggs are guarded by the female during incubation.
bottom of page