The broad-headed skink or broadhead skink (''Plestiodon laticeps'') is species of

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 to the southeastern United States. The broadhead skink occurs in

sympatry In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

with the five-lined skink (''Plestiodon fasciatus'') and Southeastern five-lined skink (''Plestiodon inexpectatus'') in forest of the Southeastern United States. All three species are phenotypically similar throughout much of their development and were considered a single species prior to the mid-1930s.

Description

Together with the Great Plains skink it is the largest of the "'' Plestiodon'' skinks", growing from a total length of to nearly . Eumeces laticepsMHolbrookV2P16A

The broad-headed skink gets its name from the wide jaws, giving the head a triangular appearance. Adult males are brown or olive brown in color and have bright orange heads during the mating season in spring. Females have five light stripes running down the back and the tail, similar to the Five-lined Skink. However, they can be distinguished by having five labial scales around the mouth, whereas Five-lined skinks have only four. Juveniles are dark brown or black and also striped and have blue tails.

Habitat

Broad-headed skinks are semi-arboreal lizards that are strongly associated with live oak trees. It does not appear that the lizards have a preference for tree size, rather they prefer trees with holes. Juveniles stay closer to the ground on low or fallen branches. Males have been known to guard preferred trees that are surrounded with dense brushes to limit attack by predators and harbor prey. Dead and decaying trees are important habitat resources for nesting.

Behavior

Broad-headed skinks are the most arboreal of the North American ''Plestiodon''. They forage on the ground, but also easily and often climb trees for shelter, to sleep, or to search for food. Broad-headed skinks often feed on what are called "hidden prey"; prey items that can only be located by searching under debris, soil or litter. Broad-headed skinks are preyed on by a variety of organisms including carnivorous birds, larger reptiles, and mammals. Skinks prefer to flee by climbing a nearby tree or seeking shelter under foliage. These skinks exhibit tail autotomy when caught by a predator. The tails break away and continue to move, distracting the predator and allowing the skink to flee. When consuming large invertebrates, they often carry them to shelter to avoid being preyed upon during the prey handling time.

Reproduction

Males typically are larger than females. The larger the female, the more eggs she will lay. Males thus often try to mate with the largest female they can find, and they sometimes engage in severe fights with other males over access to a female. Females will also mate with the largest males they can find, a result of the Good Genes Hypothesis. Females emit a pheromone from glands in the base of the tail when they are sexually receptive and males can find them by tracking their chemical trails through tongue-flicking. Males show higher tongue flicking rates when exposed to conspecific females verses heterospecific females when mating and will terminate behavioral interaction without initiating courtship if the pheromones do not match the species. The female lays between 8 and 22 eggs, which she guards and protects until they hatch in June or July. Female broadhead skinks will lay their clutch in decaying log cavities, and they have been observed to create a sort of nest by packing down debris within their cavities. The hatchlings have a total length of to .

Geographic range

Broad-headed skinks are widely distributed in the southeastern states of the United States, from the

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to Kansas and eastern Texas and from Ohio to the Gulf Coast.

Nonvenomous

These skinks (along with the similar '' Plestiodon fasciatus'') are sometimes wrongly thought to be venomous. Conant, R., & J.T. Collins. 1998. ''A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition''. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin. Boston and New York. 640 pp. . (''Eumeces laticeps'', p. 263.) Broad-headed skinks are nonvenomous.

Notes

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2697347 Plestiodon Reptiles of the United States Endemic fauna of the United States Fauna of the Southeastern United States Fauna of the Eastern United States Reptiles described in 1801 Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider