Four-lined Skink

The two subspecies can be distinguished by their color and their stripes. The long-lined skink is gray to light brown in color and has light stripes from the eyes extending to beyond its forelegs, whereas the short-lined skink is darker in color and has stripes that end before the forelegs. Juveniles of both subspecies have — like many Plestiodon — a blue tail; this color fades with age. Adults reach a maximum SVL (Snout-Vent-Length) of some 7.5 cm (about 3 inches), and a TL (total length) of about 18 cm (7.1 in).

Plestiodon tetragrammus occurs in northern Mexico and along the Mexican Gulf coast and in western and central Texas.

The female lays about 5 to 12 eggs once a year, which she broods. Males develop orange (short-lined skink) to red (long-lined skink) coloration of the head during the breeding season.