Reptiles of North Carolina

Scientific Name:	Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

NC Records
SCINCIDAE Members:
Plestiodon fasciatus - Common Five-lined Skink

Juvenile. Photo: J. Mickey

Male. Photo: J. Mickey

Female. Photo: J. Mickey

Taxonomy

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

Family: SCINCIDAE

Subfamily: Scincinae

Synonym: Eumeces fasciatus

Other Common Name(s): Five-lined Skink


Taxonomic Comments: One of thirteen species in this genus currently recognized in North America (SSAR, 2017); four occur in North Carolina
Species Comments: Taylor (1932a,b) split Eumeces fasciatus into three species, including E. inexpectatus and E. laticeps in addition to E. fasciatus. No subspecies are currently defined for fasciatus but Howes et al. (2006) and Howes and Lougheed (2008) found some mitochondrial genetic differentiation in populations at the edges of the main parts of its range, including an area in North Carolina east of the Fall-line. They speculate that these difference may have resulted from the ancestors of these populations having been isolated in different refugia during the Pleistocene.

Identification

Basis for Records: Photographs submitted as records should include a close-up lateral view of the head; Broad-headed skinks usually have five labials located before the subocular, whereas the other two species usually have four. A photograph of the underside of the tail is needed to distinguish Common Five-lined Skinks, which have a median row of enlarged scales, from the Southeastern Five-lined, which have a uniform scalation.

Description: This species is our most commonly encountered skink, which generically can be identified by their smooth, polished scales and relatively short legs. Within this genus, however, species can be highly similar to one another in coloration and pattern and photographs can be used to identify them only when specific parts of the body are shown in detail.

Morphological Features: Maximum head-body length in NC: 3.0" (77mm), males; 3.0" (76.2mm), females (Palmer and Braswell, 1995). Adults are slightly smaller than the Southeastern Five-lined Skink but are much smaller -- by as much as two inches -- than Broad-headed Skinks.

Technical Reference: Palmer and Braswell (1995)

Field Guide Descriptions: Beane et al. (2010)

Online Photos: Google iNaturalist GBIF

Observation Methods: Common Five-lined Skinks are often observed basking on sunlit logs and snags, or on porches and walls of houses. They can also be found by turning over logs and other debris, including under slabs and other debris in cut-over areas and under litter in waste grounds located next to forests.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution Comments: Common Five-lined Skinks range across nearly all of North Carolina but are rare in the high mountains and Outer Banks and uncommon in the Lower Coastal Plain (Palmer and Braswell, 1995). The highest recorded location in the state comes from an elevation of 5,187' at the top of High Rocks in the Great Smokies (Palmer and Braswell, 1995).
Distribution Reference: Palmer and Braswell (1985)
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.

Key Habitat Requirements

Habitat: Common Five-Lined Skinks prefer mesic hardwood forests but are also frequent in floodplain forests (Palmer and Braswell,1995; Beane et al., 2010). In addition to natural habitats, they can also be abundant in semi-wooded residential neighborhoods, where they make use of buildings and other artificial structures.

Environmental and Physiological Tolerances: Temperature does not appear appear to be a limiting factor for the range of this species in North Carolina. It favors relatively moist microclimates, but not as wet as in the Coal Skink but more so than the Southeastern Five-lined Skink.

Adaptations to Natural Disturbances: The preference for forested sites with sunlit openings for basking and logs and other woody debris for foraging and sheltering indicate that this species benefits from wind- or ice-storm damage to the canopy. Greenburg and Waldrop (2008), in a study conducted in the Green River Game Land of North Carolina, found that numbers of skinks and other reptiles (but not salamanders) increased in forested sites where the canopy and shrub layers were opened up due to mechanical clearance and/or burning.

Biotic Relationships: Small arthropods are the usual prey. In North Carolina, Five-lined Skinks have been observed eating wolf spiders and wood roaches in the wild and crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms in captivity. In Georgia, Hamilton and Pollack (1961) found the remains of roaches, spiders, caterpillars, beetles, and wasps in the gut contents they analyzed. Additional food items they reported included snails and an unidentified lizard. In Fitch's (1954) major study of the life history of this species, these same species were recorded. He noted that spiders appear to be a mainstay of their diet, as are roaches and orthopterans. Small vertebrates are also taken. Fitch noted that prey are detected by both sight and scent; we have a photo showing a skink apparently testing a small land snail using its tongue.

Common Five-lined Skinks, in turn, are preyed upon by a wide range of snakes, predatory birds, opossums, shrews, moles, skunks, and other carnivorous mammals (Fitch, 1954). Broad-headed Skinks also prey on this smaller species. Parasites include cestodes and three species of chiggers: Trombicula alfreddugesi, Eutrombicula splendens, and Parseca gurneyi (Fitch, 1954).

Life History and Autecology

Breeding and Courtship: Individuals mature by their second year (Fitch, 1954; Vitt and Cooper, 1986), with courtship and mating taking place in the spring (Palmer and Braswell, 1995). Males develop swollen, red heads during the breeding period, which is involved in sexual recognition and is important both for courtship and inter-male combat. These features recede once the breeding period is over (Fitch, 1954). Males increase their movements during the mating season, actively searching for females using both visual and chemical cues.

Reproductive Mode: Eggs are laid in June. Females lay eggs in stumps and rotten logs but also use other cavities located off the ground where leaf litter or other organic debris has accumulated; Palmer and Braswell (1995) mention the use of at least two leaf-filled gutters as well as sawdust piles. Females stay with the eggs, often until they hatch. Communal nesting is occasionally observed. Hatching takes place from late June into July.

Terrestrial Life History: Except for the coldest months, Common Five-lined Skinks are active during most of the year. Palmer and Braswell (1995) mention that records exist for this species in North Carolina for all months except December and January. Activity is highest during the spring breeding period.

Like most terrestrial vertebrates, they occupy home ranges, confining their movements to small areas within otherwise extensive areas of their habitat. These areas are not defended from other members of its species and are therefor not territories, as are common among birds (Fitch, 1954). As described by Fitch, the home ranges in this species are somewhat irregular in shape, formed around logs, rocks, dead trees, and other resource areas. Skinks demonstrate spatial learning in that they move directly to refugia when disturbed; learning the location of refuges, nesting sites, and good foraging places are all adaptations associated with home range use.

Fitch discovered that the home ranges in this species are not permanent but commonly show shifts over time. Male movements are more extensive during the breeding period and young individuals also are more extensive than those of the adult females, perhaps due to dispersal episodes made during this stage of their development.

Artificially translocated individuals do not show any apparent tendency to return to their original home ranges and after an initial period of wandering, settle down into home range occupancy similar to individuals that are naturally resident within an area.

General Ecology

Community Ecology: As an abundant small vertebrate, Common Five-lined Skinks are an important link in the food web, transferring energy and materials particularly within the portion of the web associated with the litter layer.

Adverse Environmental Impacts

Habitat Loss: This species has lost much of its original habitat due to conversion of forests for development or agriculture, although this particular species is able to make some use of residential areas.

Habitat Fragmentation: As is true for all of our reptile species, Common Five-lined Skinks are highly vulnerable to road mortality and both highway construction and development in general has greatly fragmented the habitats used by this species. Some degree of movements through residential neighborhoods is still possible, however.

Effects of Introduced Species/Induced Increases of Native Species: Fire ant predation on nests may be a factor in some of the more open sites occupied by this species but is probably minimal in the mesic forests preferred by this species. The arrival of Nine-banded Armadillos in North Carolina adds to the predation pressure on this species but its significance remain to be determined.

Status in North Carolina

NHP State Rank: S5

Global Rank: G5

Populations: Common Five-lined Skinks appear to be the only species in this genus that shows a fairly continuous distribution across the entire state, with no obvious gaps at least west of the Tidewater region.

Status Comments: This species is widespread in North Carolina and occupies fairly common types of habitats, including at least some residential areas. Consequently, it currently appears to be secure within North Carolina.

Photo Gallery for Plestiodon fasciatus - Common Five-lined Skink		27 photos are shown.
	Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones Transylvania Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Stephanie Willis Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephanie Willis Guilford Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Wilkes Co. Comment:	Recorded by: M. Mabe Surry Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones Polk Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones Polk Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof Transylvania Co. Comment:	Recorded by: K. Bischof Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Travis McLain Transylvania Co. Comment:	Recorded by: K. Bischof Beaufort Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J. Mickey Iredell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Travis McLain Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:	Recorded by: H. Quay Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J. Mickey Surry Co. Comment: PIMO
	Recorded by: Travis McLain Cabarrus Co. Comment:	Recorded by: J. Mickey Wilkes Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Rutherford Co. Comment:

Plestiodon fasciatus - Common Five-lined Skink

Photo Gallery for Plestiodon fasciatus - Common Five-lined Skink

27 photos are shown.