Five-lined skink

Description:

This lizard has five pale, broad stripes on a dark background. An older male sometimes loses the five pale stripes and becomes solid brown. A female normally retains the light lines. Usually there is a dark, lateral stripe on the third and fourth scales down from the mid-dorsal line. During the breeding season, the male develops a red-orange color on his jaw. The juvenile has five pale stripes on a black body and a brilliant blue tail. Hatchlings, juveniles, and females have two light lines on the head. Usually, a five-lined skink has a postnasal scale, four upper labial scales anterior to the subocular scale, and two postlabial scales. It has shiny, smooth scales. (information from "A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Oklahoma")

Habitat:

Forest

Notes:

Photographed at Greenleaf State Park