Plestiodon septentrionalis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The prairie skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis) is a species of skink endemic to the prairies east of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It is one of only six species of lizards that occur in Canada. The prairie skink was first described by Baird in 1859. Two subspecies are generally recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies:
A third subspecies was described as Eumeces s. pallidus, the "pallid skink", by H.M. Smith and Slater in 1949, but this subspecies is absent from the literature for the past more than 40 years, and it is unclear whether it exists or coincides with one of the other two subspecies.
The scientific name of the species derives from Latin: septentrionalis means "northern". Latin obtusirostris means "blunt-nosed". Despite the scientific name P. septentrionalis obtusirostris translating to "blunt-nosed northern great skink", it is a southern subspecies.
The prairie skink is a small lizard, reaching a total length... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Minneapolis [Saint Paul], so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Prairie Skink sighting in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 9th most-seen of the 11 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Prairie Skink in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] on a given day, against under 5% in July and September–April, the lowest months. Those are among Minneapolis [Saint Paul]'s wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in January.
Only Minneapolis [Saint Paul], in our data
Minneapolis [Saint Paul] is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Prairie Skink sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Prairie Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (9 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.
