Baby Copper Head Snake Belly in North Carolina
Anyone that's ever been to Florida knows that its hot and humid sub-tropical environment is a mecca for exotic reptilian species, including lizards and chameleons (which really as well are lizards).
Did you know that the Sunshine State is home to over threescore lizard species?!
Perhaps even more than surprising than the sheer number of species is that only 15 of those are actually native.
Many of the most common Florida lizards (some of which too live in other places in the U.S., like dark-brown anoles, green iguanas, and geckos, are established invasives.
Some of native lizards in Florida are quite difficult to track downwardly, but they're the existent gems of this tropical paradise.
Light-green Anole Anolis carolinensis
Range: Throughout Florida
Size: 5-eight"
Description: Slender, green, smooth skin, long tail
Habitat: Semi-arboreal, bushes, fencelines
The Dark-green Anole, besides known every bit the Carolina Anole or the American Anole, is the only anole species native to Florida. But you can discover information technology in other places throughout the Southeast US, even in Texas.
Their brown, invasive cousins are far easier to find, but these light-green gems certainly stand up out, especially when the males flash their bright red dewlaps.
Green Anoles consume insects primarily (opens in new tab), but they also occasionally sample seeds and grains.
This species is highly territorial, and males tin often be seen chasing each other abroad and exhibiting threat displays.
In captivity, they can be cared for really well – if you lot know how to practise it.
Six-lined Racerunner Aspidoscelis sexlineatus
Range: Throughout Florida, except southcentral wetlands
Size: 6-10"
Description: Slender, brown or black with 6 xanthous lines running lengthwise down the torso, greenish tinge, smooth pare, long tail
Habitat: More often than not terrestrial, loamy terrains, grasslands, woodlands, open floodplains, rocky outcroppings
The six-lined racerunner is native to much of the southeastern Us. There'due south even a modest, isolated population in Michigan.
Information technology'southward an incredibly shy and speedy trivial cadger, reaching speeds of upwardly to 18 mph when information technology flees.
Like anoles, this species actively hunts for insects during the daytime.
Isle Glass Lizard Ophisaurus compressus
Range: Throughout Florida, except southcentral wetlands
Size: 15-24"
Description: Legless, tan base color with black downward the sides and yellow and black speckling on the sides of the face up, looks similar a snake with eyelids and ears.
Habitat: Sandy scrub habitats, islands
The Isle Glass Lizard may be distinguished from other legless cadger species by two nighttime stripes running down either side of the cadger's torso and, sometimes, a dark line running down the lizard's back.
Slender Glass Lizard Ophisaurus attenuatus
Range: Throughout Florida, except southcentral wetlands
Size: 22-42"
Description: Legless, brown or black with xanthous lengthwise stripes of varying lengths, looks like a snake with eyelids and ears.
Habitat: Dry, sandy coasts
The Slender Glass Lizard is typically thinner than its other legless cousins and features night speckling down the unabridged lower sides of its body.
Mimic Glass Lizard Ophisaurus mimicus
Range: Florida Panhandle
Size: 15-26"
Clarification: Legless, shorter than other glass cadger species, statuary with yellow and blackness stripes and speckles, looks similar a snake with eyelids and ears.
Habitat: Dry out longleaf pino flatwoods
This species may be distinguished from other legless lizards past the nighttime stripes running downwards the lower half of each side of its body.
Different other glass lizard species found throughout Florida, this species is but found in the Florida panhandle.
Eastern Glass Lizard Ophisaurus ventralis
Range: Throughout Florida
Size: 18-43"
Clarification: Legless, light brown to black with green and yellow speckling, looks like a snake with eyelids and ears.
Habitat: Coastal dunes, sandy littoral plains, and wetlands
Dissimilar its cousins, this species has no lengthwise stripes on its side or back. Instead, information technology has a series of irregular white vertical lines backside its head. It is the longest glass cadger species in Florida.
Coal Skink Plestiodon anthracinus
Range: Florida Panhandle
Size: 5-seven"
Clarification: Short legs, slender, shiny, grey or brown with four light-colored stripes, blue tail
Habitat: Along streams, semi-aquatic
This elusive species is an uncommon find in its minimal range of the Florida panhandle and several isolated populations scattered around the eastern half of the U.s.a..
Information technology'south classified as a species of least business organisation by the IUCN, and information technology is poorly understood and not well-studied.
They prefer boiling habitats along bodies of fast-moving water. They'll hide amongst rocks, leaf litter, and vegetation, then swoop into the water if detected.
This is an insectivorous species that's active during the day.
Mole Skink Plestiodon egregius
Range: Throughout Florida, except southcentral wetlands
Size: iii-6"
Description: Tiny, brusk legs, slender, blue or orange long tail, shiny
Habitat: Hot, dry out environments with loose soil
There are currently five recognized subspecies of mole skink. They are:
- Florida Keys Mole Skink
- Cedar Key Mole Skink
- Bluetail Mole Skink
- Peninsula Mole Skink
- Northern Mole Skink
This species is entirely terrestrial and even semi-fossorial. They never climb, but they tin can be found hidden nether rotting logs, leaf litter, and burrowed into dry, loose soil.
Instead of running, they "swim" into the sand to safety when they see a threat. They were named after this very mole-like behavior.
Mutual Five-lined Skink Plestiodon fasciatus
Range: Northern Florida
Size: five-8"
Description: Brown with 5 light-colored stripes running down their trunk, juveniles have a blue tail, and adult males have an orange caput.
Habitat: Any
The common v-lined skink is not picky about its habitat. It tin be found in almost the unabridged Eastern half of the United States, and information technology'southward every bit at home on the ground or in trees.
The males of this species are highly territorial to other males, while the females exhibit surprising levels of maternal care, including using their bodies to regulate the temperature and humidity of the eggs, retrieving displaced eggs, and consuming rotten eggs so they don't affect the rest of the eggs.
Southeastern V-lined Skink Plestiodon inexpectatus
Range: Throughout Florida
Size: 5-8"
Description: Brown with five light-colored stripes running down their trunk, juveniles have a bluish tail, and adult males take an orange caput.
Habitat: Dry pine forests and coastal environments
This species is quite similar to the common v-lined skink.
The main divergence in behavior is that this species tends to inhabit dryer habitats like pine forests, whereas the common five-lined skink prefers moist wetlands and woodlands.
As their name suggests, they can only be plant in the southern portion of the eastern United states of america.
Broadhead Skink Plestiodon laticeps
Range: N and Fundamental Florida
Size: 6-13"
Clarification: Large, brusk legs, heavy-bodied, monotone bronze or olive body with an orange head
Habitat: Woodlands and forests
While still normally found on the ground, the broadhead skink is the about arboreal skink in Florida.
Like other skinks , the broadhead skink's nutrition consists primarily of insects. Cheers to their big size, though, they often overpower and eat other small lizards and even mammals.
Florida Sand Skink Plestiodon reynoldsi
Range: 7 Counties in Central Florida
Size: 4-5"
Description: Tiny, barely-visible legs, white or calorie-free gray torso with darker speckling
Habitat: Florida scrublands
This is undoubtedly the most unique skink species in Florida.
Their small, white bodies that evolved to alloy in with the sand certainly make them stand out from the more drab, woodsy-colored skinks.
Their legs are so tiny that they're barely visible. At first glance, Florida sand skinks look like lilliputian snakes.
They eat surface-home invertebrates, like termites and larvae.
They spend near their entire lives buried 2-4" below the surface of the ground.
Ground Skink Scincella lateralis
Range: Throughout Florida, except southcentral wetlands
Size: iii-five.five"
Description: Brusk legs, copper brown with a blackness stripe running downwards each side of their trunk
Habitat: Areas with loose soil and plenty of leaf cover
This is some other skink species that virtually never climbs and, instead, "swims" into the soil to escape predators.
Information technology's the smallest species of skink in the eastern United States.
Female basis skinks display no maternal behaviors and carelessness their nest every bit soon as they finish laying their clutch of 1-6 eggs.
Eastern Contend Lizard Sceloporus undulatus
Range: North and Central Florida
Size: four-7"
Clarification: Rough scales, gray with black horizontal zig-zag stripes, males have bright blue throats during the mating flavor.
Habitat: Dry forests
This species is highly arboreal, often fleeing to fences, shrubs, and copse at the slightest sign of danger.
Like all other lizards in Florida, the eastern fence lizard is insectivorous.
They're a mutual sight in their native range but undoubtedly challenging to catch!
Males exhibit "push-up like" behavior to attract their mates.
Florida Scrub Lizard Sceloporus woodi
Bob Peterson from Due north Palm Embankment, Florida, Planet World!, CC By-SA two.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Eatables
Range: Isolated populations throughout Florida
Size: 5"
Clarification: Gray or light brown with one dark brown stripe down each side of its body, males have blue on their throat and belly, body type similar to an anole but with semi-rough scales.
Habitat: Florida scrublands
The Florida scrub lizard inhabits isolated patches of evergreen oak and sand pine scrubland throughout Florida. They crave open areas for basking and dry conditions. They're never found in Florida's wetlands or anywhere with a closed awning.
These Florida lizards are most commonly found in the Ocala National Forest, simply their population is failing due to habitat loss. They're classified as Virtually Threatened past the IUCN.
The segmented populations have been separated for so long that they're genetically different. The iv primary Florida scrub lizard populations are located in:
- Ocala National Forest
- Inland fundamental peninsula
- Atlantic coast scrubs
- Gulf coast scrubs
If you want to larn more about lizards and the different kinds in that location are, read here!
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Source: https://reptile.guide/florida-lizards/
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