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 Osaka, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Skink sighting in Osaka on a given day, based on 322 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 12 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to September
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Skink in Osaka on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months. Those are among Osaka's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain a month against 55 mm in January.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Japanese Skink sightings, Osaka has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Hiroshima (Japan, about 40%) and Fukuoka (Japan, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Osaka (322 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.
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