Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Went out on the 6th to Refugiuo and Calhoun counties lookin' for that fabled locality female speck and found:
3 bullfrogs, 4 diamondback water snakes(1 DOR), 2 Gulf coast ribbon snakes, 1 Great plains rat snake with lots of reddish-brown(DOR), 2 alligators-Yikes!, 1 Five lined skink, 1 Rough green snake(DOR), 1 Blotched water snake, and 1 Checkered garter snake(DOR)

Went out again on the 11th to Jim Wells, Goliad, and Refugio counties and found:
1 Five lined skink, 2 Mediterranian geckoes, 1 Texas indigo snake, 1 Texas patchnose snake, 1 Six lined racerunner, 2 Narrow mouth toads/frogs?, 1 Southern plains rat snake(DOR), TMTC Bullfrogs, Leopard frogs and their tadpoles, 3 Cottonmouths, and 1 diamond back water snake(DOR).

The little Indigo was stretched out over the bank of a drainage canal trying to catch some fingerling catfish that were cruising the surface. I tried to sneak up close for the shot but he spied me and started to flee under an uprooted tree. Man was he pi$$ed when I asked for a photo, so I offered him half of my taquito and we came to an agreement! He gave me the inverted cobra trick, struck the cam/phone a couple times, musked, and said "You forgot the picante"!!!LOL!
Todd

This ain't migas!!!!!!

Is this a male Eumeces fasciata in breeding colors?

All in all a good day. Not as many roadkills as I would have expected so maybe the brief showers in the a.m. of the 11th will start to grt things moving. No annulata yet. Lots of these.
Todd

It's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks more like a male Short-lined Skink. Do you remember if the stripes ended just behind the front legs?
Where you were herping is right on the edge of their range.
Shane

Are we referring to the striped skink with the blue tail or the striped skink with the red head and a golden brown body? Both skinks stripes extend to the ear openings.
Todd

Number 4 is definitely a Five-lined Skink. I was referring to skink #3. If it was found in Jim Wells co. then it should be one of the Four-lined Skink (Eumeces tetragrammus) subspecies (likely intergrade zone). In any of the other counties it should be a Five-lined Skink.
It is hard to tell by looking at the skink you posted. The ranges of the two species pretty much abut along I-37.
Here's a good link:

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/lizards/eumeces.tetragrammus.html

Shane
Herps Of TX - Four-lined Skink

Love the drymarchon. Good luck with the annulata, I'd like to see some myself. Cool pics
-s
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~Scott Wahlberg

Thanks, Scott. Yeah, the night temps are creeping to the high 60's so it should be any day now and with a light shower or two, the amphibs should move causing the herps to move, causing hungry annulata to gorge and look for mates. Annulata late night snack/snake.
Todd

Looking forward to annulata pics too. Good job...

TC