Broadhead Skink
Full Adult Size: 16.3 - 12.4 cm
Head and Body (SVL): 14.3 cm
Hatchling Size: 5.7 - 8.6 cm
The Broadhead Skink is the second largest skink found on our site, the largest being the Great Plains Skink. Broadhead Skinks will have wide jowls with an orange-red head. The color of the skink will be olive-brown to copper for the main portion of their bodies with a series of five off-color lines running down the body. These lines will be far more prominant in females than in males, where it will tend to fade to be more uniform with the main coloration. Unfortunately, this style is extremely similar to the Five Lined Skink which is also found on site. If difficulty remains in identifying, examine the scales of the herp. For the Broadhead, there should be 30 or 32 scales at the mid-body; five or four labials anterior to the subocular; and no enlarged post labials The middle rob of scales under the tail will be wider than other sections, in the Five Lined Skink these scales will be more uniform.
At youth, Broadhead Sknks are identical to Five Lined Skink youths, being black with five yellow stripes and a bright blue tail (Conant and Collins 263).
Five Lined Skink - Eumeces fasciatus - Scales under tail will be uniform rather than the larger middle band that Broadheads have., also will only have 26-30 scales at midbody.
Conant and Joseph T. Collins. A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Images: Suzanne L. Collins, CNAH