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Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider, 1801)
Broad-headed Skink
Synonym(s): Eumeces laticeps (Schneider, 1801)
Florida native
Broad-headed skinks are found throughout the Florida panhandle and into the central peninsula in pine and oak woods and cypress swamps. The range extends throughout the southeast, west as far as Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, with the northern boundary from Missouri to Pennsylvania.
Juveniles are striped with bright blue tails with adult females remaining striped, both resembling five-lined skinks. Males become solid olive brown to tan with a bright orange to red head. Eumeces laticeps can be distinguished from the five-lined skinks by having five labial scales instead of four. These are the scales along the upper side of the mouth from the nostril to the eye (not counting the subocular scale directly below the eye).
Broad-headed skinks grow up to 33cm (13 inches) long, are active during the day and often live high in trees. They typically eat earthworms and arthropods such as grasshoppers, butterflies, cockroaches and small beetles.
Plestiodon laticeps is a member of the Scincidae - Skinks family.
Other species of the Plestiodon genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Plestiodon fasciatus - COMMON FIVE-LINED SKINK
Plestiodon inexpectatus - SOUTHEASTERN FIVE-LINED SKINK
iNaturalist profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jul 10, 2024
