About Scincella lateralis (Say, 1822)
This species, commonly known as the little brown skink or ground skink, is one of the smallest reptiles in North America. Its total length including the tail ranges from 3 to 5.5 inches (7.5 to 14.5 cm), and individuals have a body mass of 1 to 2 grams. Its back is typically coppery brown, with a white or yellow underside and dark coloration running laterally from the eyes to the tail. Like most skinks, it has an elongated body and short legs. Transparent disks in its lower eyelids allow it to see even when its eyes are closed. Females of this species tend to grow faster and reach a larger size than males. Tooth size and count in this species correlates more strongly with snout-vent length than with head size. Scincella lateralis displays sexual dimorphism: females are generally larger overall, while males have larger heads. It is suggested that this trait may arise from sexual selection that favors larger heads in males during male-male contests. Males may also develop more orange coloration on their heads. The ground skink occurs across most of the Eastern United States, ranging south from New Jersey, Ohio, and Kansas to Texas and Florida, and extends into northern Mexico. It is found along the Atlantic coast, and is one of the most abundant skink species in southeastern America. In recent times, it has been sighted in southern New York State, and also occurs in isolated areas such as central Illinois. It is not found at higher elevations in the Appalachian Mountains. It is one of the most abundant and widely distributed members of the skink family, and despite its large geographic range, there is very little geographic variation within the species. S. lateralis occupies a wide range of habitats, including deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, hedgerows, palmetto hammocks, and the edges of streams and ponds. It requires a deep substrate such as leaf litter, and is known to occasionally shelter in Sabal palmettos. Genetic studies show that several discontinuities in this species' genetic distribution align with major southeastern rivers, indicating that rivers have historically isolated ground skink populations. However, phylogeographic evidence confirms that some gene flow occurs across these rivers, including across the Mississippi River. Meander cutoff may allow passive dispersal across river barriers, which in turn promotes this gene flow. Sexually mature S. lateralis females lay small clutches of 1 to 6 eggs, most often 2 to 3 eggs. They lay clutches in moist soil, rotting logs, fallen logs, or under rocks. Egg laying takes place during the summer; in the Southern United States, this occurs from March through August. A single female may produce more than one clutch per year. Unlike females of Eumeces skink species, female ground skinks do not guard their eggs. Eggs hatch after one to two months. Hatchlings reach sexual maturity at one year of age, and females generally become sexually mature earlier than males.
