#1685 · 🦎 reptiles

Western Skink

Plestiodon skiltonianus

LCleast concern 🦎 Reptiles 📍 outside Europe

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Rachel Romine · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Kaj Hoffman · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
3. © John Sullivan · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Cricket Raspet · CC BY 4.0
5. 22500 Cristo Rey Dr, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA:© selwynq · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. San Luis Obispo County, US-CA, US:© Isaac Capp · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Utah, US:© Ace bouwhuis · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Curry County, US-OR, US:© Liam Hopkins · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Lincoln County, ID, USA:© Aaron Aggeler · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Jackson County, US-OR, US:© no rights reserved · CC0

what is it?

The western skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus) is a species of small, smooth-scaled lizard with relatively small limbs. 25 inches) in total length (body + tail). It is one of five species of lizards in Canada. They spend much of their day basking in the sun. Their diet ranges widely, including spiders and beetles. Western skinks will bite if grasped and will flee if they feel threatened. It is...

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 11,442iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
11,442 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Spencer Fullerton Baird in 1852 (174 years ago).