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Ocellated skink

Chalcides ocellatus · Lizards · Reptiles

Ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus): Typical skink with smooth, glossy overlapping scales, a cone-shaped head, cylindrical body and relatively small limbs; maximum snout-vent length 149 mm (Mesa, Arizona animals 68-118 mm, 160-230 mm total). Usually light-centred dark spots (ocelli) on a light brown, bronze, yellowish-green or grey background; ocelli may merge into dark bands, some animals have dark lateral stripes and others lack ocelli. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the ocellated skink map

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

Scientific name
Chalcides ocellatus
Family
Scincidae
In North America
Introduced
Range
Native from Italy across the Mediterranean and Middle East to Pakistan and North Africa; introduced and established in Mesa, Arizona (first confirmed 2007) and reported established in Florida, Britain and France. NatureServe lists only Arizona as exotic for the US.
Biology

How to identify it

Typical skink with smooth, glossy overlapping scales, a cone-shaped head, cylindrical body and relatively small limbs; maximum snout-vent length 149 mm (Mesa, Arizona animals 68-118 mm, 160-230 mm total). [1][2]

Usually light-centred dark spots (ocelli) on a light brown, bronze, yellowish-green or grey background; ocelli may merge into dark bands, some animals have dark lateral stripes and others lack ocelli. [1][2]

Belly usually white; juveniles have a greenish tail. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

In Arizona found in and around potted plants, block walls, planters and shrubbery and inside garages and storerooms; in the native range it occupies open forest, Mediterranean and coastal scrub, palm oases, farms and gardens. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Basks on open ground and uses dense vegetation, rocks or woody debris for cover. [1][2]

Live-bearing (eggs retained until hatching); one or two litters of 2-20 in summer; mating likely in spring. [1][2]

Eats insects, arachnids and small lizards, including its own young. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for removal or nuisance take

These authorities list this species as nuisance, invasive or unprotected wildlife that may be taken. This is not a game season.

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

Native from Italy across the Mediterranean and Middle East to Pakistan and North Africa; introduced and established in Mesa, Arizona (first confirmed 2007) and reported established in Florida, Britain and France. NatureServe lists only Arizona as exotic for the US.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Tucson Herpetological Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Tucson Herpetological Society