Great Plains Skink

The Great Plains Skink (Eumeces obsoletus) is – together with the Broad-headed Skink – the largest skink of the genus Eumeces. It reaches a length of 3.5 to 5 inches (9 to 13 cm) from snout to vent or up to nearly 13.5 in (34 cm) total length (including the tail).

This lizard is light gray or beige in color; its dorsal scales have black or dark brown edges. The scales on the sides run diagonally. The belly is yellow. Juveniles are black with white sports on the lips and the head and have a blue or blueish tail.

The Great Plains Skink is very common on the Great Plains, ranging from south-eastern Wyoming and Nebraska (and also Fremont County, Iowa) down to eastern Arizona, Texas, and into Mexico.

This skink lives in open plains or the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, in areas near water. In southeastern Colorado, it occurs in elevation up to about 7200 ft (1900 m); in northern Colorado, only at elevations below about 4500 ft (1400 m).

The mating season of the Great Plains Skink is in April or May, after which the female lays between 5 and 32 eggs (on the average about 12) in early summer. She then guards her eggs until they hatch in late summer.