Plestiodon inexpectatus
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 |
No species of the same family or order lives in Everglades National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southeastern Five-lined Skink sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 81 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 54 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southeastern Five-lined Skink in Everglades National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months. That is one of Everglades National Park's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 240 mm in June.
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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Southeastern Five-lined Skink sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%) and Big Cypress National Preserve (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 Everglades National Park (81 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
