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Southeastern five-lined skink

Plestiodon inexpectatus · Lizards · Reptiles

Southeastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus): 5-8.5 in (12.5-21.5 cm); gray, brown or black with five white or yellowish stripes (two per side, one down the back). Young have a bright blue tail; adult male stripes may fade and a reddish or orange colour may develop on the head. 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 inexpectatus
Family
Scincidae
In North America
Native
Range
Throughout South Carolina and all but extreme northern Georgia (SREL); the wider range was not sourced in detail. Not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

5-8.5 in (12.5-21.5 cm); gray, brown or black with five white or yellowish stripes (two per side, one down the back). [1][2]

Young have a bright blue tail; adult male stripes may fade and a reddish or orange colour may develop on the head. [1][2]

No enlarged row of scales under the tail, unlike five-lined and broadhead skinks. [1][2]

Compared with the common five-lined skink: Five-lined skink has an enlarged row of scales under the tail and usually uses moister habitat. [1][2]

Compared with the broadhead skink: Broadhead skinks are usually larger and more arboreal, and have an enlarged row of scales under the tail. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a southeastern five-lined skink before you act. Compared with the common five-lined skink: Five-lined skink has an enlarged row of scales under the tail and usually uses moister habitat.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Dry wooded habitats with abundant fallen trees and stumps, especially dry pine forests and coastal areas; also wet pine flatwoods, sandhills and abandoned buildings. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Found on the ground or in trees, but less arboreal than broadhead skinks; most often beneath logs or under bark and runs for the nearest tree or log when pursued. [1][2]

Eats a wide variety of insects, spiders and other invertebrates. [1][2]

Females lay several eggs in moist soil or rotten logs in summer and attend them; tail breaks off when restrained. [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

Throughout South Carolina and all but extreme northern Georgia (SREL); the wider range was not sourced in detail. Not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia