Plestiodon japonicus
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Plestiodon japonicus is a species of lizard which is endemic to Japan. The IUCN lists the species as least concern. The species was first described in 1864 by the German naturalist Wilhelm Peters as Eumeces (Pleistodon) quinquelineatus var. Japonicus. It was placed into the genus Plestiodon in 2008. The genus Eumeces now contains African and Middle-Eastern skinks.
A similar species is Plestiodon latiscutatus which is distributed o the Izu Peninsula and the Izu Islands. Plestiodon japonicus has a total length of 15 to 24 cm with a snout-vent length of 6 to 9.6 cm. Juveniles have shiny blue tails and black bodies with five golden stripes. The adults are brown. While the females still retain stripes, they can disappear on the males. During the mating season the head of the males has a red color.
The mating season occurs from April to May. The females lay clutches of 6 to 15 eggs. They stay and care for them until they hatch. The species has the largest distribution of any skink species in Japan. It occurs in Western Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and surrounding islands. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marine World Uminonakamichi | 🇯🇵 Japan |
No species of the same family or order lives in Hiroshima, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Skink sighting in Hiroshima on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Skink in Hiroshima on a given day, against about 10% in November to April, the lowest months. That is one of Hiroshima's wettest months, with about 260 mm of rain against 65 mm in January.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Japanese Skink sightings, Hiroshima ranks 2nd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Osaka (Japan, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Hiroshima (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
