HELP THE FIVE-LINED SKINK Plestiodon fasciatus ... a species at risk Meet Ontario’s only native lizard! The Five-lined Skink is an amazing little creature, but it faces many threats including: being squashed by cars and trucks, habitat loss, and illegal collection for the pet trade. Juvenile Five-lined Skink How can you help? • Report your sightings! • Do not attempt to pick up a Five-Lined Skink! This may cause them to detach their tail, which contains important energy stores. • Drive cautiously and look out for skinks on the road • If you see a skink on the road, protect it until it crosses safely • Preserve Five-lined Skink habitat: skinks live under rocks and logs, so leave cover objects alone • Do not keep or buy Five-lined Skinks as pets; they are meant to be wild! For more information about the Five-lined Skink or to report a sighting I E N please contact: F R D S E O H F T Pinery Provincial Park Visitor Centre 9526 Lakeshore Rd. RR2 Grand Bend ON N0M 1T0 519-243-8574 @PineryProvPark P K Information about the Skink Habitat Stewardship I N R E R Y P A Project is on our website - pinerypark.on.ca/skinks.html HELP THE FIVE-LINED SKINK Plestiodon fasciatus ... a species at risk • Protected under provincial and federal laws • Found in a variety of wooded habitats, usually under rocks or fallen trees • Diet consists mostly of invertebrates such as spiders, caterpillars, and beetles • Their level of activity depends on their body temperature, and if warm Adult Male Five-lined Skink who has lost his tail they can be extremely quick! and regrown a shorter replacement Identification Features • Ontario’s only lizard, the Five-lined Skink is sometimes confused with salamanders, because of their similar body shape. Salamanders, however, are amphibians and do not have scales or claws. • As the name suggests, they have five yellowish lines that run from the snout all the way down to the tail. These lines fade in adult males. • Juveniles have bright metallic blue tails, which fade in males but the colour is somewhat retained in adult females. • Adult males develop reddish-orange heads; this colour intensifies during breeding season Why are Five-lined Skinks so remarkable?! • Five-lined skinks are incredible creatures! They change through several beautiful colours throughout their lives and have some very clever adaptations. • The Five-lined Skink has the amazing ability to detach part of its own tail if it is ever caught by a predator. • The detached tail wiggles around for a few minutes, distracting the predator and possibly giving the skink enough time to get away! • A new tail will eventually regrow, but it will most likely be shorter and less colourful. Estimated range of Five-lined Skinks in Ontario.