![Bluetail Mole Skink Eumeces egregius lividus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Bluetail_Mole_Skink_Eumeces_egregius_lividus.jpg)
''Plestiodon egregius'', the mole skink, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of small
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the Southeastern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Taxonomy
The species is subdivided into five
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
, including the
nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
:
*Florida Keys mole skink, ''P. e. egregius''
Baird, 1859: occurs only on some of the
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
.
*Cedar Key mole skink, ''P. e. insularis''
(Mount
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
, 1965): occurs only on three islands at
Cedar Key
Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th ...
.
*Bluetail mole skink, ''P. e. lividus''
(Mount, 1965): occurs only in interior central Florida; shares its
Florida Scrub
Florida sand pine scrub is an endangered subtropical forest ecoregion found throughout Florida in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland sand ridges and is characterized by an evergreen xeromorphic plant community dominated by shrub ...
habitat with the
Sand Skink
The Florida sand skink (''Plestiodon reynoldsi'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae, the skinks. It is endemic to Florida in the United States.
Taxonomy and etymology
It was described as a new genus and new species by Leonhard Stej ...
.
*Peninsula mole skink, ''P. e. onocrepis''
Cope
The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...
, 1871.
*Northern mole skink, ''P. e. similis''
( McConkey, 1957).
The species was first described by Baird in 1859 as ''Plestiodon egregius''. In 1871, ''P. onocrepis'' was described by Cope. In 1875, the two species were reassigned to the genus ''Eumeces''. In 1935, two subspecies were defined, ''E. e. egregius'' and ''E. e. onocrepis'', and in 1957, ''E. e. similis'' was separated from ''E. e. egregius''. In 2005 North American members of
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Eumeces'' were reassigned to ''Plestiodon''.
Status
The first three subspecies listed above are protected, and the bluetail mole skink is classified as a federally-threatened species since 1987. The major threats to all three subspecies are habitat destruction due to residential, commercial, and agricultural development and over-collection by herpetological enthusiasts. The remaining two subspecies are rather common, though elusive. The northern mole skink also occurs in southern
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
Habitat
Mole skinks are found in
sandhill
A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and be ...
s and scrub. They often like to be buried underground and especially like to bask in the upper layers of
Southeastern pocket gopher
The southeastern pocket gopher (''Geomys pinetis'') is a species of pocket gopher that is native to the southeastern United States. It occurs in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, where it is the only pocket gopher.
Description
The southeastern poc ...
mounds.
Reproduction
Mole skinks reach sexual maturity after one year. They mate in winter; the female lays three to seven eggs in spring in a shallow nest cavity less than below the surface. The eggs incubate for 31 to 51 days, during which time the female tends the nest.
Bluetail mole skink
Description
The bluetail mole skink is a small, shiny, cylindrical lizard of a brownish color. Juveniles usually have a blue tail which makes up slightly more than half of the animal's total length. Regenerated tails and the tails of older individuals are typically pinkish. The legs are somewhat reduced in size and are used only during surface locomotion, not when the animal "swims" through the sand (Christman 1992). During the breeding season, males develop a colorful orange pattern on their sides.
The bluetail mole skink grows to .
Habitat and behavior
It shares habitat with the
sand skink
The Florida sand skink (''Plestiodon reynoldsi'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae, the skinks. It is endemic to Florida in the United States.
Taxonomy and etymology
It was described as a new genus and new species by Leonhard Stej ...
, which is also endangered, but does not compete with it: whereas the sand skink feeds underground, the bluetail mole skink hunts on the surface.
When threatened, it plays presents its tail and if refused, plays dead.
Diet
Like other mole skinks, it feeds primarily on
cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...
es,
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s, and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
s.
Geographic range
It is found in central Florida.
Map should also reflect Seminole and Orange counties. Also sighted in Brevard and Pasco Counties.
Conservation status
The bluetail mole skink is a
federally-threatened species.
References
External links
Comprehensive overviewof the Bluetail Mole Skink at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...
.
Multispecies Recovery Plan for South Florida section on the Bluetail Mole Skink (
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
file, 147
KB).
Selected literature
*
Baird, S.F. 1859. Descriptions of New Genera and Species of North American Lizards in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia "1858"
''10 253-256. ("''Plestiodon egregius'',
Baird", p. 256.)
*Christman, S.P. (1992): Endangered:
Smith,_Hobart_M._2005._''Plestiodon'':_a_Replacement_Name_for_Most_Members_of_the_Genus_''Eumeces''_in_North_America._Journal_of_Kansas_Herpetology._Number_14._pp._15-16.
*Edward_Harrison_Taylor.html" ;"title="Hobart_Muir_Smith.html" ;"title="blue-tailed mole skink, ''Eumeces egregius lividus'' (Mount). Pages 117-122 in P.E. Moler, ed. ''Rare and endangered biota of Florida''. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
*McConkey, E.H. 1957. The Subspecies of ''Eumeces egregius'', a Lizard of the Southeastern United States. Bull. Florida State Mus. 2 (2): 13-23. (''"Eumeces egregius similis, subsp. nov."'', pp. 17-18.)
*Mount, R.H. (1965): Variation and systematics of the scincoid lizard ''Eumeces egregius'' (Baird). Bulletin of the Florida State Museum 9:183-213.
*Hobart Muir Smith">Smith, Hobart M. 2005. ''Plestiodon'': a Replacement Name for Most Members of the Genus ''Eumeces'' in North America. Journal of Kansas Herpetology. Number 14. pp. 15-16.
*Edward Harrison Taylor">Taylor, E.H. 1936. A Taxonomic Study of the Cosmopolitan Scincoid Lizards of the Genus ''Eumeces'' with an Account of the Distribution and Relationships of its Species. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. "1935" 23 (14): 1-643. (''Eumeces egregius'', p. 490.)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q167066
egregius
Reptiles of the United States
Skink, Mole
Reptiles described in 1859
Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird