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Ground skink

Scincella lateralis · Lizards · Reptiles

Ground skink (Scincella lateralis): Tiny skink with smooth, shiny scales, cylindrical body, conical head and short legs; light tan to golden-brown above. Dark brown to black stripe along each side extending onto the tail; belly white or yellow. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Scincella lateralis
Family
Scincidae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern and central-eastern United States (NatureServe: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia) and northern Mexico; not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Tiny skink with smooth, shiny scales, cylindrical body, conical head and short legs; light tan to golden-brown above. [1][2]

Dark brown to black stripe along each side extending onto the tail; belly white or yellow. [1][2]

Total length averages about 146 mm (75-146 mm range); females have larger heads, males longer tails. [1][2]

Juveniles are bronze with black specks; adults can drop and regrow the tail. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Humid deciduous forest, dry upland woodland, stream and pond edges, and vacant lots or building edges in suburbs, always where ground cover (leaf litter, logs, rocks) is present. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal and ground-dwelling, basking and moving through leaf litter; generally does not climb. [1][2]

Active March-October in the north and all year in Florida; goes underground in cold weather. [1][2]

Eats termites, millipedes, roaches, ants, beetle larvae, caterpillars and other small arthropods, finding prey by sight and smell. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern and central-eastern United States (NatureServe: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia) and northern Mexico; not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology