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

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 lizard,

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 else ...

to the southeastern United States. The broadhead skink occurs in sympatry 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 The Great Plains skink (''Plestiodon obsoletus'')''Plestiodon obsoletus' ...

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 Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

of the North American ''Plestiodon''. They

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used ...

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

hatchling In oviparous biology, a hatchling is a newly hatched fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird. A group of mammals called monotremes lay eggs, and their young are hatchlings as well. Fish Fish hatchlings generally do not receive parental care, similar to ...

s have a total length of to .

Geographic range

Broad-headed skinks are widely distributed in the southeastern states of the

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 territori ...

, from the East Coast to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and eastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

to the Gulf Coast.

Nonvenomous

These skinks (along with the similar ''

Plestiodon fasciatus The (American) five-lined skink (''Plestiodon fasciatus'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to North America. It is one of the most common lizards in the eastern U.S. and one of the seven native specie ...

'') are sometimes wrongly thought to be

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

. Conant, R., & J.T. Collins. 1998. ''A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition''.

Peterson Field Guides The Peterson Field Guides (PFG) are a popular and influential series of American field guides intended to assist the layman in identification of birds, plants, insects and other natural phenomena. The series was created and edited by renowned ornith ...

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

. 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