Florida is home to three Plestiodon species, which all look very similar as juveniles. The southeastern five-lined skink and the common five-lined skink both look a lot like the image above as youngsters. You can tell the five-lined skinks apart if you can turn them over: the common five-lined skink has a line of broad…
Tag: Squamata
Pine Woods Snake
When I moved my trash can to drag it to the curb, the biggest worm I had ever seen, ever was hiding underneath it! When I looked closer, the “worm” was actually a gorgeous pine woods snake, Rhadinaea flavilata. (Alternate names include the yellow-lipped snake and brown-headed snake.) Like most snakes, this one didn’t want…
Common House Gecko
Another of Florida’s seemingly infinite number of invasive species, Hemidactylus frenatus is another of those critters I just can’t bring myself to remove. Three to five of these generous little lizards live in my roof, emerging at night to eat insects attracted by our porchlight. I find it to be a good trade. They’re supposed…
Southeastern Five-Lined Skink
The southeastern five-lined skink lives, as one might expect, all over the southeastern United States. It looks a great deal like the American five-lined skink, Plestiodon fasciatus, but based on geographic range (this individual was found in central Florida) this is more likely the southeastern than the American five-lined skink. The scientific name “inexpectatus“, which…