Map Snapshot
7 Records
Status
Coal Skink (Plestiodon anthracinus) occurs rarely on ridges and mountains of western Maryland. This lizard appears to prefer wooded slopes with high humidity, natural springs, and rocky outcroppings near water. In Maryland, Coal Skink is restricted to Allegany and Garrett Counties. The species as a whole has a curiously disjunct range, with the northern subspecies occurring primarily in highlands from New York to the central Appalachians. The southern form is found in patches west of the Mississippi R., and along portions of the gulf coast of the deep south (Conant & Collins, 1998; Maryland DNR site). Coal skink is endangered in Maryland, ranked as S1 (highly state rare), and considered vulnerable.
Description
This skink shows four pale lines along the body, extending onto the basal portion of the tail. It lacks a pale dorsal line shown by related skinks in Maryland. On the chin, Coal shows a single postmental scale (two postmentals on related species in Maryland). Coal Skink also lacks prominent stripes on the face (Conant & Collins, 1998).
Seasonality Snapshot
Source: Wikipedia
| Plestiodon anthracinus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Plestiodon |
| Species: | P. anthracinus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Plestiodon anthracinus Baird, 1850
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Plestiodon anthracinus, the coal skink, is a species of lizard which is endemic to the United States.[1][2]
Description
[edit]It is a mid-sized lizard with short well developed legs, and overlap when addressed in most specimens, except gravid females.[3] It grows to 13–18 cm (5.1–7.1 in) in total length with a maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 7 cm (2.8 in). It is a four-lined skink whose light stripes extend onto the tail. The broad dark lateral stripe is 4–4.5 scales wide and there are no light lines on top of the head. The dorsolateral light stripe is on the edges of the 3rd and 4th scale rows, counting from midline of back. One postmental scale is present. The sides of the head of the male are reddish during spring breeding season, at least in some parts of the range.
Taxonomy
[edit]Two subspecies of the coal skink are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies:[2]
- Northern coal skink – Plestiodon anthracinus anthracinus Baird, 1850
- Southern coal skink – Plestiodon anthracinus pluvialis (Cope, 1880)
The (northern) coal skink was first described by Baird in 1850; the southern subspecies P. a. pluvialis was identified by Cope in 1880. They are the near the ancestral form for the fasciatus group.[4]
The southern coal skink as a subspecies has posterior supralabials with light centers and dark edges, producing a spotted appearance. There are 26 or more rows of scales around the middle of the body.
Reproduction
[edit]The coal skink mates in spring or early summer, laying a clutch of 8 or 9 eggs. Their eggs are typically around 10–11 mm in length.[5] Courting for this species usually involves the male's initial investigation and recognition of a potential female through pheromonal cues.[6] The young hatch after four to five weeks and are about 5 cm (2.0 in) long. The hatchlings have a blue tail; those of the northern coal skink are striped like the adults, but young southern coal skinks have black bodies with at the utmost faint traces of stripes.
Habitat and Geographic range
[edit]
Coal skink distribution
The more humid portions of wooded hillsides with abundant leaf litter or loose stones are favorite habitats. Coal skinks' habitat may also include areas around springs, rocky bluffs overlooking creek valleys, and mesic sites.[7] If pursued, they will take refuge in shallow water, going to the bottom and hiding under stones or debris.
The northern coal skink (blue in the figure) occurs in western New York and central Pennsylvania and in isolated colonies in the Appalachians. The southern coal skink (orange) can be found on the eastern Gulf coast from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana as well as west of the Mississippi from eastern Kansas and central Missouri to eastern Texas and northern Louisiana. Scattered intermingled occurrences of both subspecies (green in the figure) occur in Alabama and in Georgia. Their current natural threats include a number of small mammals, snakes, and larger species of lizards. Human influence has also been known to pose a threat to this species, due to habitat decrease and degradation for a number of reptile species.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Plestiodon anthracinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T64220A12754566. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64220A12754566.en. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ a b c Plestiodon anthracinus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 3 September 2023.
- ^ McCauley, Robert H. (1940-03-30). "A Record for Eumeces anthracinus from Georgia". Copeia. 1940 (1): 50. doi:10.2307/1439024. ISSN 0045-8511. JSTOR 1439024.
- ^ Hardy, Laurence M.; Raymond, Larry R.; Harris, Shannon (September 2017). "The Karyotype ofPlestiodon anthracinus(Baird, 1850) (Sauria: Scincidae): A Step Toward Solving an Enigma". Southeastern Naturalist. 16 (3): 326–330. doi:10.1656/058.016.0318. ISSN 1528-7092.
- ^ Collins, Joseph T. (1974). "Observations on Reproduction in the Southern Coal Skink (Eumeces anthracinus pluvialis Cope)". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 77 (2): 126–127. doi:10.2307/3627350. ISSN 0022-8443. JSTOR 3627350.
- ^ Pyron, Robert Alexander; Camp, Carlos Duane (2007). "Courtship and mating behaviours of two syntopic species of skink (Plestiodon anthracinus and Plestiodon fasciatus)". Amphibia-Reptilia. 28 (2): 263–268. doi:10.1163/156853807780202413. ISSN 0173-5373.
- ^ Hotchkin, Paul E.; Camp, Carlos D.; Marshall, Jeremy L. (March 2001). "Aspects of the Life History and Ecology of the Coal Skink, Eumeces anthracinus, in Georgia". Journal of Herpetology. 35 (1): 145. doi:10.2307/1566039. JSTOR 1566039.
- ^ Hullinger, Allison; Cordes, Zackary; Riedle, Daren; Stark, William (2020-05-23). "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.
Further reading
[edit]- Baird, S.F. 1850. Revision of the North American Tailed-Batrachia, with descriptions of new genera and species. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia ("Second Series") 1: 281-294. (Plestiodon anthracinus, p. 294.)
- Behler, J.L., and F.W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Knopf. New York. 743 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Eumeces anthracinus, pp. 568–569 + Plates 425, 429.)
- Boulenger, G.A. 1887. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ, Scincidæ,... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers.) London. xii + 575 pp. + Plates I.- XL. (Eumeces anthracinus, p. 376; Eumeces pluvialis, p. 376.)
- Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. xviii + 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Eumeces anthracinus, pp. 126–127, Figure 29 + Plate 19 + Map 80.)
- Cope, E.D. 1880. On the Zoological Position of Texas. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (17): 1-51. ("Eumeces pluvialis sp. nov.", p. 19.)
- Smith, H.M. 1946. Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Comstock. Ithaca, New York. 557 pp. (Eumeces anthracinus, p. 372.)
- 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 anthracinus, pp. 76–77.)
External links
[edit]- Description from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.