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Plestiodon laticeps

April 11, 2024

The broad-headed skink or broadhead skink (Plestiodon laticeps) is species of lizard, endemic to the southeastern United States.[1] The broadhead skink occurs in sympatry with the five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) and Southeastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus) in forest of the Southeastern United States. All three species are phenotypically similar throughout much of their development and were considered a single species prior to the mid-1930s.[3]

Broad-headed skink
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Plestiodon
Species:
P. laticeps
Binomial name
Plestiodon laticeps
(Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms
  • Scincus laticeps Schneider, 1801
  • Plestiodon laticeps
    — A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839
  • Eumeces laticeps — Taylor, 1936
  • Plestiodon laticeps
    — Collins & Taggart, 2009 [2]

Description edit

Together with the Great Plains skink it is the largest of the "Plestiodon skinks", growing from a total length of 15 cm (5.9 in) to nearly 33 cm (13 in).

 
A male broad-headed skink, illustration from Holbrook's North American Herpetology, 1842.

The broad-headed skink gets its name from the wide jaws, giving the head a triangular appearance. Adult males are brown or olive brown in color and have bright orange heads during the mating season in spring. Females have five light stripes running down the back and the tail, similar to the Five-lined Skink. However, they can be distinguished by having five labial scales around the mouth, whereas Five-lined skinks have only four.[4] Juveniles are dark brown or black and also striped and have blue tails.

Habitat edit

Broad-headed skinks are semi-arboreal lizards that are strongly associated with live oak trees. It does not appear that the lizards have a preference for tree size, rather they prefer trees with holes. Juveniles stay closer to the ground on low or fallen branches.[5] Males have been known to guard preferred trees that are surrounded with dense brushes to limit attack by predators and harbor prey.[6] Dead and decaying trees are important habitat resources for nesting.[7] The occurrence of the species was seen to correlate with the presence of Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). [8]

Behavior edit

Broad-headed skinks are the most arboreal of the North American Plestiodon. They forage on the ground, but also easily and often climb trees for shelter, to sleep, or to search for food. Broad-headed skinks often feed on what are called "hidden prey"; prey items that can only be located by searching under debris, soil or litter.[9] Broad-headed skinks are preyed on by a variety of organisms including carnivorous birds, larger reptiles, and mammals. Skinks prefer to flee by climbing a nearby tree or seeking shelter under foliage.[5] These skinks exhibit tail autotomy when caught by a predator. The tails break away and continue to move, distracting the predator and allowing the skink to flee.[5] This species is capable of detecting integumentary chemical stimuli from two species of snakes that are sympatric predators of lizards.[10] Typically, females will flee before males do when found in pairs.[11] Broad-headed Skinks rely on coloration and directional stimuli to determine which end of their prey item to attack.[12] When consuming large invertebrates, they often carry them to shelter to avoid being preyed upon during the prey handling time.[13]

Reproduction edit

Males typically are larger than females.[14] Large males guard females during breeding season using aggressive behavior with other males, and remain in pairs for long periods of time for foraging, basking, and mating.[15] The larger the female, the more eggs she will lay. Males thus often try to mate with the largest female they can find, and they sometimes engage in severe fights with other males over access to a female. Large adult males in South Carolina will guard females within their territories and chase away smaller males. [16] Females will also mate with the largest males they can find, a result of the Good Genes Hypothesis.[17] Females only have a preference on body size of males when reproducing, they tend to look over the more dominant feature of bright orange heads on this species.[18] Females emit a pheromone from glands in the base of the tail when they are sexually receptive and males can find them by tracking their chemical trails through tongue-flicking.[19] Males show higher tongue flicking rates when exposed to conspecific females verses heterospecific females when mating and will terminate behavioral interaction without initiating courtship if the pheromones do not match the species.[20] The female lays between 8 and 22 eggs, which she guards and protects until they hatch in June or July. Female broadhead skinks will lay their clutch in decaying log cavities, and they have been observed to create a sort of nest by packing down debris within their cavities.[21] The hatchlings have a total length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in) to 8 centimetres (3.1 in).

Geographic range edit

Broad-headed skinks are widely distributed in the southeastern states of the United States, from the East Coast to Kansas and eastern Texas and from Ohio to the Gulf Coast.

Nonvenomous edit

These skinks (along with the similar Plestiodon fasciatus) are sometimes wrongly thought to be venomous.[22] Broad-headed skinks are nonvenomous.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Plestiodon laticeps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T64231A12756745. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64231A12756745.en.
  2. ^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ^ Watson, Charles, M.; Formanowicz, Daniel, R. (2012). "A COMPARISON OF MAXIMUM SPRINT SPEED AMONG THE FIVE-LINED SKINK (PLESTIODON) OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES AT ECOLOGICALLY RELEVANT TEMPERATURES" (PDF). Herpetological Conservation and Biology. 7 (1): 75–82.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Division., Connecticut. Department of Environmental Protection. Connecticut. Wildlife (1997). Five-lined skink. Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division. OCLC 43556290.
  5. ^ a b c Vitt, Laurie; Cooper, William (1986). "Foraging and Diet of a Diurnal Predator (Eumeces Laticeps) Feeding on Hidden Prey". Journal of Herpetology. 20 (3): 408–415. doi:10.2307/1564503. JSTOR 1564503.
  6. ^ Cooper, William, E. (1993). "Tree Selection by the broad-headed skink, Eumeces laticeps: size, holes, and cover". Amphibia-Reptilia. 14 (3): 285–294. doi:10.1163/156853893X00480 – via Brill.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Hullinger, Allison; Cordes, Zackary; Riedle, Daren; Stark, William (2020). "Habitat assessment of the Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps) and the associated squamate community in eastern Kansas". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 123 (1–2): 137. doi:10.1660/062.123.0111. S2CID 218890677.
  8. ^ Hullinger, Allison; Cordes, Zackary; Riedle, Daren; Stark, William (2020). "Habitat Assessment of the Broad-Headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps) and the Associated Squamate Community in Eastern Kansas". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 123 (1–2): 137. doi:10.1660/062.123.0111. ISSN 0022-8443. S2CID 218890677.
  9. ^ Vitt, Laurie; Cooper, William (1986). "Tail loss, tail color, and predator escape in Eucemes (Lacertilia: Scincidae) age-specific differences in costs and benefits". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 64 (3) (3 ed.): 583–592. doi:10.1139/z86-086.
  10. ^ Cooper, W.E. Jr. (1990). "Chemical detection of predators by a lizard, the broad-headed skink (Eumeces laticeps)". J. Exp. Zool. 256 (2): 162-167. doi:10.1002/jez.1402560206.
  11. ^ Cooper, W. E., & Vitt, L. J. (2002). Increased predation risk while mate guarding as a cost of reproduction for male broad-headed skinks (Eumeces laticeps). Acta Ethologica, 5(1), 19. 10.1007/s10211-002-0058-1
  12. ^ Cooper, W. E. (1981). Visual guidance of predatory attack by a scincid lizard, Eumeces laticeps. Animal Behaviour, 29(4), 1127-1136. 10.1016/S0003-3472(81)80065-6
  13. ^ Cooper, William (2000). "Tradeoffs Between Predation Risk and Feeding in a Lizard, the Broad-Headed Skink (Eumeces Laticeps)". Behaviour. 137 (9): 1175–1189. doi:10.1163/156853900502583. ISSN 0005-7959.
  14. ^ "Species Profile: Broadhead Skink." Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia. https://srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/eumlat.htm
  15. ^ Cooper, W.E. (1993). "Tree selection by the broad-headed skink, Eumeces laticeps: size, holes, and cover". Amphibia-Reptilia. 14 (3): 285-294. doi:10.1163/156853893X00480.
  16. ^ Laurie J. Vitt and William E. Cooper Jr.. 2011. The evolution of sexual dimorphism in the skink Eumeces laticeps: an example of sexual selection. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 63(5): 995-1002. https://doi.org/10.1139/z85-148
  17. ^ Cooper, William; Vitt, Laurie (1993). Female mate choice of large male broad-headed skinks (4 ed.). Animal Behavior. ISBN 5-02-022461-8.
  18. ^ Cooper, William E.; Vitt, Laurie J. (April 1993). "Female mate choice of large male broad-headed skinks". Animal Behaviour. 45 (4): 683–693. doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1083. ISSN 0003-3472. S2CID 53189345.
  19. ^ "Virginia Herpetological Society". www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  20. ^ Cooper, W. E., Garstka, W. R., & Vitt, L. J. (1986). Female Sex Pheromone in the Lizard Eumeces laticeps. Herpetologica, 42(3), 361–366. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3892314
  21. ^ Vitt, Laurie J.; Cooper, William E. (1985). "The Relationship between Reproduction and Lipid Cycling in the Skink Eumeces laticeps with Comments on Brooding Ecology". Herpetologica. 41 (4): 419–432. ISSN 0018-0831. JSTOR 3892111.
  22. ^ Conant, R., & J.T. Collins. 1998. A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin. Boston and New York. 640 pp. ISBN 0-395-90452-8. (Eumeces laticeps, p. 263.)

Further reading edit

  • Behler, J.L., and F.W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Knopf. New York. 743 pp. (Eumeces laticeps, pp. 573–574 + Plates 424, 431.)
  • Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern North America, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. xviii + 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Eumeces laticeps, pp. 123–124, Figures 26-27 + Plate 19 + Map 76.)
  • Schneider, J.G. 1801. Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae continens...Scincos... Frommann. Jena. vi + 364 pp. + Plates I.- II. (Scincus laticeps, pp. 189–190.)
  • Smith, H.M., and E.D. Brodie, Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Eumeces laticeps, pp. 76–77.)

External links edit

 
Wikispecies has information related to Plestiodon.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plestiodon laticeps.

April 11, 2024
plestiodon, laticeps, broad, headed, skink, broadhead, skink, species, lizard, endemic, southeastern, united, states, broadhead, skink, occurs, sympatry, with, five, lined, skink, plestiodon, fasciatus, southeastern, five, lined, skink, plestiodon, inexpectatu. The broad headed skink or broadhead skink Plestiodon laticeps is species of lizard endemic to the southeastern United States 1 The broadhead skink occurs in sympatry with the five lined skink Plestiodon fasciatus and Southeastern five lined skink Plestiodon inexpectatus in forest of the Southeastern United States All three species are phenotypically similar throughout much of their development and were considered a single species prior to the mid 1930s 3 Broad headed skinkConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ReptiliaOrder SquamataFamily ScincidaeGenus PlestiodonSpecies P laticepsBinomial namePlestiodon laticeps Schneider 1801 SynonymsScincus laticeps Schneider 1801 Plestiodon laticeps A M C Dumeril amp Bibron 1839 Eumeces laticeps Taylor 1936 Plestiodon laticeps Collins amp Taggart 2009 2 Contents 1 Description 2 Habitat 3 Behavior 4 Reproduction 5 Geographic range 6 Nonvenomous 7 See also 8 Notes 9 Further reading 10 External linksDescription editTogether with the Great Plains skink it is the largest of the Plestiodon skinks growing from a total length of 15 cm 5 9 in to nearly 33 cm 13 in nbsp A male broad headed skink illustration from Holbrook s North American Herpetology 1842 The broad headed skink gets its name from the wide jaws giving the head a triangular appearance Adult males are brown or olive brown in color and have bright orange heads during the mating season in spring Females have five light stripes running down the back and the tail similar to the Five lined Skink However they can be distinguished by having five labial scales around the mouth whereas Five lined skinks have only four 4 Juveniles are dark brown or black and also striped and have blue tails Habitat editBroad headed skinks are semi arboreal lizards that are strongly associated with live oak trees It does not appear that the lizards have a preference for tree size rather they prefer trees with holes Juveniles stay closer to the ground on low or fallen branches 5 Males have been known to guard preferred trees that are surrounded with dense brushes to limit attack by predators and harbor prey 6 Dead and decaying trees are important habitat resources for nesting 7 The occurrence of the species was seen to correlate with the presence of Black Walnut Juglans nigra 8 Behavior editBroad headed skinks are the most arboreal of the North American Plestiodon They forage on the ground but also easily and often climb trees for shelter to sleep or to search for food Broad headed skinks often feed on what are called hidden prey prey items that can only be located by searching under debris soil or litter 9 Broad headed skinks are preyed on by a variety of organisms including carnivorous birds larger reptiles and mammals Skinks prefer to flee by climbing a nearby tree or seeking shelter under foliage 5 These skinks exhibit tail autotomy when caught by a predator The tails break away and continue to move distracting the predator and allowing the skink to flee 5 This species is capable of detecting integumentary chemical stimuli from two species of snakes that are sympatric predators of lizards 10 Typically females will flee before males do when found in pairs 11 Broad headed Skinks rely on coloration and directional stimuli to determine which end of their prey item to attack 12 When consuming large invertebrates they often carry them to shelter to avoid being preyed upon during the prey handling time 13 Reproduction editMales typically are larger than females 14 Large males guard females during breeding season using aggressive behavior with other males and remain in pairs for long periods of time for foraging basking and mating 15 The larger the female the more eggs she will lay Males thus often try to mate with the largest female they can find and they sometimes engage in severe fights with other males over access to a female Large adult males in South Carolina will guard females within their territories and chase away smaller males 16 Females will also mate with the largest males they can find a result of the Good Genes Hypothesis 17 Females only have a preference on body size of males when reproducing they tend to look over the more dominant feature of bright orange heads on this species 18 Females emit a pheromone from glands in the base of the tail when they are sexually receptive and males can find them by tracking their chemical trails through tongue flicking 19 Males show higher tongue flicking rates when exposed to conspecific females verses heterospecific females when mating and will terminate behavioral interaction without initiating courtship if the pheromones do not match the species 20 The female lays between 8 and 22 eggs which she guards and protects until they hatch in June or July Female broadhead skinks will lay their clutch in decaying log cavities and they have been observed to create a sort of nest by packing down debris within their cavities 21 The hatchlings have a total length of 6 centimetres 2 4 in to 8 centimetres 3 1 in Geographic range editBroad headed skinks are widely distributed in the southeastern states of the United States from the East Coast to Kansas and eastern Texas and from Ohio to the Gulf Coast Nonvenomous editThese skinks along with the similar Plestiodon fasciatus are sometimes wrongly thought to be venomous 22 Broad headed skinks are nonvenomous See also editGilbert s Skink similar morphologyNotes edit a b Hammerson G A 2007 Plestiodon laticeps IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007 e T64231A12756745 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2007 RLTS T64231A12756745 en The Reptile Database www reptile database org Watson Charles M Formanowicz Daniel R 2012 A COMPARISON OF MAXIMUM SPRINT SPEED AMONG THE FIVE LINED SKINK PLESTIODON OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES AT ECOLOGICALLY RELEVANT TEMPERATURES PDF Herpetological Conservation and Biology 7 1 75 82 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Division Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Connecticut Wildlife 1997 Five lined skink Connecticut Dept of Environmental Protection Wildlife Division OCLC 43556290 a b c Vitt Laurie Cooper William 1986 Foraging and Diet of a Diurnal Predator Eumeces Laticeps Feeding on Hidden Prey Journal of Herpetology 20 3 408 415 doi 10 2307 1564503 JSTOR 1564503 Cooper William E 1993 Tree Selection by the broad headed skink Eumeces laticeps size holes and cover Amphibia Reptilia 14 3 285 294 doi 10 1163 156853893X00480 via Brill a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Hullinger Allison Cordes Zackary Riedle Daren Stark William 2020 Habitat assessment of the Broad headed Skink Plestiodon laticeps and the associated squamate community in eastern Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 123 1 2 137 doi 10 1660 062 123 0111 S2CID 218890677 Hullinger Allison Cordes Zackary Riedle Daren Stark William 2020 Habitat Assessment of the Broad Headed Skink Plestiodon laticeps and the Associated Squamate Community in Eastern Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 123 1 2 137 doi 10 1660 062 123 0111 ISSN 0022 8443 S2CID 218890677 Vitt Laurie Cooper William 1986 Tail loss tail color and predator escape in Eucemes Lacertilia Scincidae age specific differences in costs and benefits Canadian Journal of Zoology 64 3 3 ed 583 592 doi 10 1139 z86 086 Cooper W E Jr 1990 Chemical detection of predators by a lizard the broad headed skink Eumeces laticeps J Exp Zool 256 2 162 167 doi 10 1002 jez 1402560206 Cooper W E amp Vitt L J 2002 Increased predation risk while mate guarding as a cost of reproduction for male broad headed skinks Eumeces laticeps Acta Ethologica 5 1 19 10 1007 s10211 002 0058 1 Cooper W E 1981 Visual guidance of predatory attack by a scincid lizard Eumeces laticeps Animal Behaviour 29 4 1127 1136 10 1016 S0003 3472 81 80065 6 Cooper William 2000 Tradeoffs Between Predation Risk and Feeding in a Lizard the Broad Headed Skink Eumeces Laticeps Behaviour 137 9 1175 1189 doi 10 1163 156853900502583 ISSN 0005 7959 Species Profile Broadhead Skink Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia https srelherp uga edu lizards eumlat htm Cooper W E 1993 Tree selection by the broad headed skink Eumeces laticeps size holes and cover Amphibia Reptilia 14 3 285 294 doi 10 1163 156853893X00480 Laurie J Vitt and William E Cooper Jr 2011 The evolution of sexual dimorphism in the skink Eumeces laticeps an example of sexual selection Canadian Journal of Zoology 63 5 995 1002 https doi org 10 1139 z85 148 Cooper William Vitt Laurie 1993 Female mate choice of large male broad headed skinks 4 ed Animal Behavior ISBN 5 02 022461 8 Cooper William E Vitt Laurie J April 1993 Female mate choice of large male broad headed skinks Animal Behaviour 45 4 683 693 doi 10 1006 anbe 1993 1083 ISSN 0003 3472 S2CID 53189345 Virginia Herpetological Society www virginiaherpetologicalsociety com Retrieved 2022 04 28 Cooper W E Garstka W R amp Vitt L J 1986 Female Sex Pheromone in the Lizard Eumeces laticeps Herpetologica 42 3 361 366 http www jstor org stable 3892314 Vitt Laurie J Cooper William E 1985 The Relationship between Reproduction and Lipid Cycling in the Skink Eumeces laticeps with Comments on Brooding Ecology Herpetologica 41 4 419 432 ISSN 0018 0831 JSTOR 3892111 Conant R amp J T Collins 1998 A Field Guide to Reptiles amp Amphibians Eastern and Central North America Third Edition Peterson Field Guides Houghton Mifflin Boston and New York 640 pp ISBN 0 395 90452 8 Eumeces laticeps p 263 Further reading editBehler J L and F W King 1979 The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians Knopf New York 743 pp Eumeces laticeps pp 573 574 Plates 424 431 Conant R 1975 A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern North America Second Edition Houghton Mifflin Boston xviii 429 pp ISBN 0 395 19979 4 hardcover ISBN 0 395 19977 8 paperback Eumeces laticeps pp 123 124 Figures 26 27 Plate 19 Map 76 Schneider J G 1801 Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae continens Scincos Frommann Jena vi 364 pp Plates I II Scincus laticeps pp 189 190 Smith H M and E D Brodie Jr 1982 Reptiles of North America A Guide to Field Identification Golden Press New York 240 pp ISBN 0 307 13666 3 Eumeces laticeps pp 76 77 External links edit nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Plestiodon nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plestiodon laticeps Plestiodon laticeps in the CalPhotos photo database University of California Berkeley Plestiodon laticeps at the Encyclopedia of Life Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Plestiodon laticeps amp oldid 1217087092, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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