Plestiodon inexpectatus
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Plestiodon inexpectatus, the southeastern five-lined skink is a common skink in the southeastern United States. The specific name, inexpectatus ("the unexpected"), is possibly a reference to the unexpected discovery of this species in 1932, almost 175 years after Linnaeus described Plestiodon fasciatus, commonly known as the American five-lined skink.
As their common name suggests, southeastern five-lined skinks have five characteristic narrow stripes along their bodies that become lighter with age. The middle stripe tends to be narrower than the others, and the dark areas between stripes are black in young skinks but become brown with age. A similar lizard, the common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), is slightly smaller than the southeastern five-lined skink and has broader stripes. However, it is difficult to discriminate between these two species on the basis of physical appearance.
Young southeastern five-lined skinks have a bright blue or purplish tail, especially towards the tip. Also, stripes become a bright reddish orange towards the head. Juvenile coloration may persist into adulthood, giving the head of the animal an altogether orange... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montgomery Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southeastern Five-lined Skink sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 33rd most-seen of the 58 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, May and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southeastern Five-lined Skink in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in April, June and August–February, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southeastern Five-lined Skink sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Southeastern Five-lined Skink sightings, Miami ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Orlando (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southeastern Five-lined Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Miami (47 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.
