Natural History: Scincella lateralis

Two weeks ago our lab took a field trip to the Dixie Plantation in Edisto, SC.  We found a number of different specimens, but my favorite by far was the ground skink (Scincella lateralis).  Although my opinion on the best herp caught might be biased due to the fact that I myself caught this particular lizard, it is still fair to say these are some interesting little creatures.

I found the little lizard under a log in the forested area just a few yards off the trail we were walking.  He was very good at evading capture by quickly burrowing under nearby leaf debris, and upon capture it was quite easy to tell that the animal was a little exhausted.  The sides of the small skink were quickly being pushed in and out by the ribcage, a great example of negative pressure ventilation.

Ground skinks are small lizards of the family Scincidae and are found throughout much of the eastern half the US and into northern Mexico.  It is one of the smallest lizards found in North America with adults ranging in size from 3-5.5".  The one I found was approximately 3" long (snout to tip of tail).  These skinks live in a variety of habitats, including deciduous or mixed deciduous/coniferous forests, hedgerows, and the edges of streams and ponds.  They are a fossorial species which spend the majority of their life under leaf litter on forest floors.  And unlike many other species of skinks, they rarely climb.  Its primary means of locomotion is to wiggle through leaf litter with undulating movements, as I got to see first hand in the field.  They're coloration helps them blend in very well with the forest floor.

Ground skinks lay small clutches from as few as one egg to as many as six.  Females lay eggs under rotten logs or debris in the summer time. It is expected that these small lizards may lay several clutches per season but the specifics are still unknown.