In remaining sand pine and long-leaf pine areas, naturally occurring fires -necessary for the habitat's maintenance -have been suppressed. To citrus groves or re-zoned for housing tracts. Much of the blue-tailed skink's habitat is privately owned land that is being rapidly converted Within 20 years, roughly 65% of the skink's habitat had been lost. In 1965, there were an estimated 50,000 acres (20,234 hectares) of available habitat. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory lists 20 population sites for the blue-tailed skink. North of Polk County, the blue-tailed skink is replaced by the peninsula mole skink or by hybrids of the two subspecies. The blue-tailed mole skink is found in suitable habitat in Polk and Highlands counties. More than 14 species of birds and plants endemic to this region are listed as endangered or threatened as a result of agricultural expansion and residential development, including snakeroot ( Eryngium cuneifolium ) and Carter's mustard ( Warea carteri ). The blue-tailed mole skink is endemic to central Florida and was probably fairly widespread before the large-scale conversion of its habitat for agriculture (particularly citrus groves). Therefore, the two skinks occupy different niches and do not compete for food, even though they are occasionally seen together. Unlike the endangered sand skink ( Neoseps reynoldsi ), which forages underneath the sandy soil, the mole skink forages mostly on the surface. Moisture retained by litter is important for internal heat regulation in this species. Within scrub areas, skinks occupy only localized pockets of sufficient leaf litter and moisture to provide abundant food and nesting sites. This species is more common in early successional forest stages and may not persist in mature sand pine scrub due to this requirement. Loose sand, vital for burrowing, is the primary habitat requirement. Dominant vegetation includes sand pine and rosemary, or longleaf pine and turkey oak associations. The larger habitat of the blue-tailed mole skink is sand pine scrub communities. Skinks become sexually mature during the first year. It mates during the winter, and females lay underground clutches of three to seven eggs in the spring. The mole skink forages on the surface or digs into the soil to find insects, feeding mostly on cockroaches, spiders, and crickets. Little is known of the biology of the blue-tailed mole skink, but it is presumed to be similar to the peninsular mole skink ( E. The tail, blue in juveniles and pinkish with age, is a little more than half the body length. The blue-tailed mole skink, Eumeces egregius lividus, has short, stubby legs and a thin, cylindrical body measuring from 3.6-5.2 in (9-13 cm). Lizard with a long, narrow, cylindrical body bluish tail in young.Īgricultural and residential development. ![]() Young skinks attain reproductive maturity and begin reproducing within 2-3 years of hatching.Blue-tailed Mole Skink Eumeces egregius lividus Status Parental care ends a day or two after hatching when hatchlings leave the nest. Females typically brood their eggs during this time, protecting them against smaller predators. The incubation period ranges from 24 to 55 days and varies due to fluctuations in temperature. Females may also urinate in the nests and turn eggs to maintain humidity. In communal nests, females may alternate foraging and guarding the nests, leaving eggs protected at all times. Even when nesting sites are not limited, females may gather in communal nests in order to reduce egg mortality. Females often place nests in regions where soil moisture is higher than in adjacent areas. Females lay 15-18 eggs in a small cavity cleared beneath a rotting log, stump, board, loose bark, a rock, or an abandoned rodent burrow. Thus the birthing process consists of laying eggs and external incubation. The female will lay its eggs at least one month after mating, and 4-6 weeks after the incubation, the young hatch. American five-lined skinks are polygynous which means that males mate with more than one female during the breeding season.
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