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Many-lined skink

Plestiodon multivirgatus · Lizards · Reptiles

Many-lined skink (Plestiodon multivirgatus): Smooth, glossy scales and short fore and hind limbs; total length 10.2-19.4 cm. Multiple stripes down the body alternating light and dark on a dark brown to olive-green base. 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
Plestiodon multivirgatus
Family
Scincidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern South Dakota, Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming and northeastern Colorado (northern segment); southern Colorado, southeastern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas (southern segment); roughly 910-2,620 m. Not found in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Smooth, glossy scales and short fore and hind limbs; total length 10.2-19.4 cm. [1][2][3]

Multiple stripes down the body alternating light and dark on a dark brown to olive-green base. [1][2][3]

A pair of white stripes on the third scale row from the middle of the back. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Northern populations: short- and mixed-grass prairie and sandhills on sandy or loose soil. [1][2][3]

Southern populations: desert, streamside thickets, pinyon-juniper and pine-oak woodland, fir forest and shrublands. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal; active about April to early October (March-October in the north of the range), with crepuscular activity in hot weather. [1][2][3]

Secretive; usually found under ground cover such as rocks, logs and cow dung; overwinters underground. [1][2][3]

Eats mainly terrestrial arthropods. [1][2][3]

Lays 2-9 eggs in spring; the female attends the eggs. [1][2][3]

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

Southern South Dakota, Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming and northeastern Colorado (northern segment); southern Colorado, southeastern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas (southern segment); roughly 910-2,620 m. Not found in Canada.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission / University of Nebraska · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Nebraska Game and Parks Commission / University of Nebraska

  3. Wyoming Game and Fish Department · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Wyoming Game and Fish Department