This little Broad-headed Skink (Eumeces laticeps) has had an encounter with a predator, most likely some bird, that has marred her beauty but saved her life. Skinks are fairly small creatures, this one from nose to the base of her tail is 3 to 4 inches. She would normally be invisible in the litter on the floor of the forest where this picture was taken. She was scampering along the handrail of a boardwalk when I happened along. She was kind enough to pose for me and I have a series of photographs from this magical encounter. Most of the skinks I have ever seen were brief glimpses of them scurrying off at high speed. I was very lucky to be able to spend as much time with this tiny creature as I did.

Notice her yellow racing stripes, 2 down each side and her blue tail. Not all skinks are this colorful, many of the ones I have seen are dingy brown or grayish. The skinks as a group have a shiny, almost glass-like quality to their body scales. I suspect that slick, shiny appearance helps keep the dirt and mud from sticking to them.

If you look closely at the picture, you will see that this colorful, little lizard is missing the end of her tail. Many of the smaller lizards have a defense mechanism where a special band of muscles near the end of their tail can constrict when they are attacked and break off the end of the tail. The tail tip will squirm and wiggle.

The skink is betting its life on the wiggling tail tip distracting the predator while it makes a quick exit to safety. The lizard sacrifices a small portion of its tail in exchange for survival. The lizard, if it lives long enough, will regrow the missing tail to its former glory. And that, folks, is the end of my skinky tale.

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For the last three summers, I have been treated to encounters with members of the species Phrynosoma cornutum, the Texas Horned Lizard that are living in the backyard. These delightful creatures help to eat the red harvester ants that we have in several places in the yard. The above image shows an adult in the lawn beginning to puff itself up to appear larger and to extend the thorns on its skin to warn predators that it is a choking hazard.

You can go here and here on this website to read more about my encounters with these creatures.

In this image, you can see that a Common Checkered Skipper has used this little fellow as a landing zone as well as probing him for food.

We love our little spiny friends and watch for them when we mow. They blend so well with the habitat that we often miss them until they move. I was treated this year to seeing one wiggle himself down into loose sand near an anthill so that only his head was visible. All he had to do was wait for unsuspecting ants to walk by. I didn’t have my camera or the time to photograph this one when it happened, much to my regret. However, we look for these little guys every time we go outside and especially when we are working on the lawn. So far, no tragedies. Peaceful coexistence is the rule around our house as much as is possible. Occasionally, we are rewarded with interesting pictures of neighborhood nature.

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This lizard is most likely in the genus Sceloporus because of the “keel” visible in the center of its larger scales. It closely resembles the species S. undulata, the Prairie lizard due to its light stripe dark stripe, and light stripe visible along its sides. Also, the brown stripe down the middle of the back is expected in S. undulata. Several subspecies of S. undulata have been identified which further complicates identification of the animal pictured above.

Over the last 40 years, there have been some genetic comparisons done that may have changed the taxonomic status of S. undulata and its subspecies’.  Take a look here  and you should glean from this source that S. undulata consobrinus may have been elevated from a subspecies to species and renamed  Sceloporus consobrinus. Since I did not get to examine this specimen more closely, I refrained from using the old subspecies name or its new name. Although,  the animal in the picture above is most likely, based on the markings visible, to be Sceloporus undulatus consobrinus, the Southern Prairie Lizard. Also, I have an old field guide that says this species should occur in Tarrant County, Texas where the photo was taken.

Without the organism in hand, this identification is and will remain tentative. Also, the variety of markings I have seen across the internet sites on reptiles, plus the number of subspecies for S. undulata identified at the link above means there is a fair amount of variation in markings across this species.  Random variation within a species worked on by environmental constraints is the machinery of evolution.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the few moments I had with this little fella. He allowed me to follow along as he scampered along a wooden handrail in a wooded area adjacent to a marshland. I watched him scamper up a tree and disappear into the foliage. Most of the lizards I see regularly in the parts of Texas where I have lived have been Sceloporus. We used to have one that liked to come down our chimney into the house and scare the crap out of folks when he darted through the house.  I kept a monofilament noose on a 36 inch piece of 3/8th inch dowel handy to help catch the little guy when he strayed into the house. We saw him grow and get fat over several years.

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The animal pictured in this photograph is a Prairie Racerunner, Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis. It is one of two species found in Texas. This picture was taken in Fort Worth and is a part of the state where both species of  Racerunner can be seen. This specimen has green stripes along its sides and a faint line inside the dorsal brown stripe giving this guy 7 stripes down his back. These two characteristics distinguish this lizard from his cousin Cnemidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus, the Six-lined Racerunner. Also, the blue belly and throat identify this animal as a male.

The Prairie Racerunner belongs to the whiptail family (Teiidae) whose members occupy North and South America only. Cnemidophorus is the only genus in this large family found in the United States. There are nine species in Cnemidophorus found in the U. S.

These busy little lizards are active during the day and zip along hunting insects and small animals. They like grasslands, shrublands, margins of rivers, streams, and lakes. Rocky habitat in these areas provides them places to hunt and hide.

This picture shows a female who is in the process of shedding her outer layer of skin. Lizards and snakes periodically slough off their outer scales after having grown an entire new layer beneath. In effect, they give themselves a new set of “clothes”.

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