=================+===========+============+===========+=========+========= | Number of | | Standard | | SOURCE OF SAMPLE| clutches | Mean | deviation | Maximum | Minimum -----------------+-----------+------------+-----------+---------+--------- Early ovarian | 25 | 11.4 ± .46 | 2.28 | 20 | 5 | | | | | Late ovarian, | | | | | uterine, or laid | | | | | in captivity | 56 | 9.16 ± .21 | 1.85 | 15 | 4 | | | | | In natural nests | 34 | 8.82 ± .32 | 1.85 | 16 | 4 -----------------+-----------+------------+-----------+---------+--------- On the average, larger females produce more eggs per clutch than do smaller females. Of 49 females for which measurements were recorded, and which had uterine or large ovarian eggs, 31 were 70 mm. or more in snout-vent length. These 31, mostly or entirely old adults, averaged 9.9 eggs per clutch, whereas 18 others that were 69 mm. or less in snout-vent length, and that must have been mainly or entirely newly matured adults in their first breeding season, averaged only 7.8 eggs per clutch. Smith (1946:350) states that in the northern part of the range of this skink there is some indication of decrease in size of clutches. This is not well shown by published records. For the southern states, most of the published records of clutch size are by authors who did not clearly distinguish between the three kinds of five-lined skinks, and there is some doubt as to which species is involved in each record. For 56 clutches reported upon from north of approximately latitude 37°, I obtain a slightly higher figure than for 11 clutches from south of this line. Geographic trends are, of course, obscured by individual variation, and perhaps by abnormal clutches produced by individuals kept in captivity. In Table 7, the figures marked with asterisks pertain to clutches that might have belonged to skinks of the species _E. laticeps_ or _E. inexpectatus_ since they were recorded in regions where _laticeps_ and in some cases, _inexpectatus_ also, occurs along with _fasciatus_. If these questionable clutches are excluded the remaining 55, definitely of _fasciatus_, average 8.48 eggs per clutch, whereas the 12 questionable clutches average 8.42. Both figures are close to the average of 8.82 ± .32 eggs for the 34 natural nests recorded in the present study. For the total of 1661 eggs of 182 clutches, from the combined sample of all available records for clutches found in the present study or reported upon in the literature, the average egg number is 9.13.