Japanese Five-Lined Skink

Description:

Japanese Five-Lined Skink spotted basking on small rock surrounded by vegetation in the early morning, at Zama Yatoyama Park, in Kanagawa, Japan. Skinks have shorter legs than is usual for lizards and sometimes no legs at all (legless species move by wriggling like a snake). The five-lined skink does have legs and a long tail. A dark-brown stripe runs lengthways down both sides of the body, which is smooth and shiny-scaled. Adults grow 16-25 cm long. Juvenile skinks have a bright-blue tail and metallic-gold stripes. Adult males lose the blue-and-gold coloring, but females retain it.

Habitat:

From Honshu to Kyushu, from the lowlands to the mountains. One variety of the five-lined skink living on the Tokara Islands in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, is endangered, but the mainland variety is common. Although skinks are some of the most secretive lizards, the five-lined skink can be found in sunny places, near crevices and hiding places, and even in the city. They are diurnal (active during the day), and they hibernate in winter. Mating takes place in April and May, and females lay their 5-16 eggs under stones or in underground burrows. Females take care of the eggs, remaining with them until the baby skinks hatch, 31-35 days later. Females keep the eggs clean by licking them and move them around so that each egg is equally incubated. Without female care, most of the eggs wouldn’t hatch.

Notes:

Males are bigger than females, and although their bodies are more dull in color, during the breeding season they develop orange-red pigment markings under the jaws, belly and lips. At the same time, males become highly aggressive. The male hormone testosterone is responsible both for the increase in aggression and the red coloration. During fights, a male attempts to bite his opponent’s head. During mating, a male also bites — or nips — the female, especially around the pelvic region. Some skinks may bear the scars of such bites.