Plestiodon gilberti
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Plestiodon gilberti, commonly known as Gilbert's skink, is a species of heavy-bodied medium-sized lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and grows to about 7 to 12 cm (3 to 4.5 in) in total length (including tail).
Plestiodon gilberti (formerly Eumeces Gilberti) was coined by John Van Denburgh in honor of Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, who was Denburgh’s professor at Stanford University and inspiration for his involvement in herpetology. Together with the western skink (P. skiltonianus), the San Lucan skink (P. lagunensis), and the four-lined Asiatic skink (P. quadrilineatus), Gilbert's skink belongs to the so-called "skiltonianus group". The exact taxonomy within this group is being questioned and may need revision following DNA analysis research.
There are five subspecies of Plestiodon gilberti, including the nominotypical subspecies. Plestiodon gilberti arizonensis (Lowe & Shannon, 1954) – Arizona skink Plestiodon gilberti gilberti (Van Denburgh, 1896) – greater brown skink
Plestiodon gilberti placerensis (Rodgers, 1944) – northern brown skink Plestiodon gilberti cancellosus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lindsay Wildlife Experience | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gilbert's Skink sighting in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 17 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Gilbert's Skink in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, against under 5% in June and September–January, the lowest months. Those are among Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in September.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gilbert's 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 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Gilbert's Skink sightings, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Yosemite National Park (United States, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gilbert's Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (14 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.
