Reptiles
Coal Skink
Plestiodon anthracinus · also called coal skinks
Startled from beneath a streamside rock, a coal skink doesn’t hesitate the way many of its skink relatives would, sliding straight into the shallow water and vanishing downstream before a predator can close the distance.
Overview
The coal skink, Plestiodon anthracinus, is a small, semi-aquatic lizard native to rocky, wooded hillsides near streams and springs across the eastern United States. Its simpler two-stripe pattern and genuine willingness to escape into water set it apart from several of its more strictly terrestrial skink relatives.
A skink that treats water as an exit route
While most skinks retreat to a burrow or crevice when threatened, the coal skink keeps a stream close at hand as a backup plan, one it uses more readily than almost any other skink sharing the same rocky hillsides.
Status
Least Concern — present across suitable rocky, wooded habitat throughout the eastern United States, though scattered and disjunct in distribution.
Coal Skink: common questions
How can you tell a coal skink from other similar skinks?
A coal skink carries just two dark stripes running down each side of its body, a notably simpler pattern than the more numerous stripes typical of several closely related skink species, making stripe count one of the more reliable ways to distinguish it from similar-looking relatives sharing the same habitat.
Why does the coal skink go into the water to escape predators?
A coal skink will readily enter a stream or pool when threatened, a semi-aquatic escape behaviour more pronounced than in many of its more strictly terrestrial skink relatives, likely reflecting the species' close habitual association with streamside and spring habitat where water is always close at hand.
Why are coal skink populations so scattered?
The coal skink occurs in a somewhat scattered, disjunct distribution across the eastern United States, with populations separated by gaps of unsuitable habitat, a pattern that likely reflects the species' fairly specific requirement for rocky, wooded hillsides close to streams and springs rather than more general forest habitat.
Where does the coal skink live?
The coal skink is native to rocky, wooded hillsides near streams and springs across parts of the eastern United States, generally favouring sites that combine rock cover, forest shade, and a reliable nearby water source.