Mountain Skink
By Richard Bartlett · March 7, 2017 12:46 am
Mountain skinks are one of the most beautiful members of the genus. At an adult length of 6 to 7 inches, the beautiful mountain skink, Plestiodon callicephalus, is a denizen of habitats that vary from rocky desert to wooded slopes. Those that I have seen have been along the rocky banks of seasonal creeks, and with just a little effort on the part of the searcher, the rocky banks of one spring-fed water trough could always be depended on to harbor at least one of these skinks. This taxon has a light “Y” shaped marking on the top of the head, a fawn dorsum, and a broad dark stripe on each side. The stripe narrows posteriorly and fades entirely a few scale rows posterior to the hind limbs. Like many skinks, the mountain species has a brilliant blue tail when young. Unlike many other skink species that lose the blue with growth and age, the mountain skink retains the blue throughout its life but the intensity dulls some with age. Primarily a Mexican species, in the USA the mountain skink occurs only in extreme scAZ and the western bootheel of NM. From there it ranges southward to the vicinity of Guadalajara, MX.
A mountain skink on a sandy hillside in Arizona.
Like most skinks, if startled mountain skinks are adept at finding shelter amidst and beneath rocks.
