Species
Mole skink
Plestiodon egregius
A small, burrowing skink of sandy ground with a bright red or orange tail.
Photo User:Factumquintus (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 9 to 16 cm long including the tail
- Habitat
- Dry, sandy soils: sandhills, dunes, scrub and pine woods
- Diet
- Small insects, spiders and larvae in the soil
- In Georgia
- Sandhills and coastal dunes of the Coastal Plain
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Slender, shiny brown with light stripes; very short legs; bright red, orange or pink tail
- Told apart from
- Little brown skink, which lacks the coloured tail
- Where to look
- Under logs, boards and debris on sand
Behaviour
Mole skinks "swim" through loose sand with small legs held against the body. They spend most of their time underground, surfacing under cover on moist days.
Why they matter
They are specialists of Georgia's sandhills and dunes, habitats with many species found nowhere else.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Usually 3 to 9
Nest — In sand, guarded by the female
Incubation — About 4 to 8 weeks
Hatchlings — Small, brightly tailed
Maturity — Within one to two years
Lifespan — A few years
Living around people
- It is harmless; boards and logs on sandy ground give it shelter.
Misconceptions
- A red-tailed lizard is dangerous. The bright tail is a lure for predators, which the skink can drop.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Active under cover on warm days | Active under cover | Active | Breeding | Laying | Laying | Hatching | Hatching | Active | Active | Active on warm days | Deep in sand |
Where it lives
Recorded in 3 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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