Life History and Ecology of the Five-Lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatusFitch, Henry S. (Henry Sheldon)
Science
Life History and Ecology of the Five-Lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus
Fitch, Henry S. (Henry Sheldon)
Eumeces fasciatus
Blanchard (1922) mentions a nest in Tennessee that may have been made by
either this species or _E. laticeps_ "in a hollow in a dead willow tree
about fifteen feet from the ground buried in the loose, damp, rotted
wood." Noble and Mason (_op. cit._:16) quote Blanchard (_in litt._) that
in northern Michigan _fasciatus_ nests in logs that are exposed to
sunlight. Conant (1951:31) stated that several clutches of eggs found in
Ohio were an inch to six inches beneath the upper surface of the log or
stump which sheltered them. Evans and Roecker (1951:70) record finding
two incubating females inside rotten pine logs, in Ontario. Cagle,
studying this species near Elkville, Illinois, in oak-hickory woods,
found 25 natural nests of which three were in loose soil among the
roots of a fallen tree, another was under loose bark of a log, and the
remainder were all in cavities of partly decayed logs. Bishop (1926:119)
recorded finding a female with a clutch of eggs beneath damp boards at
Quicksand, Breathitt County, Kentucky.
In the present study, more than one hundred natural nests were found, of
which just one (containing two clutches of eggs) was in decaying wood
beneath the bark of an old log. All other nests were beneath rocks. On
the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation, where most of the
nests were found, the policy is not to tear apart decaying logs;
therefore the nests probably present in such situations were not
ordinarily found. On several occasions groups of hatchlings were seen on
logs within which they probably had hatched. In the area of the study,
however, decaying logs are scarce. The hardwood forests consist mostly
of young trees that are second growth on cutover areas or pioneer on
areas that were previously grassland. Because of frequent cutting there
are few old mature trees, and logs have not accumulated on the forest
floor. In northeastern Kansas, nesting in logs is comparatively rare. On
wooded slopes and the edges of level hilltops, the flat limestone rocks
that are often abundant provide preferred nesting sites. Even on
collecting trips off the Reservation, where stumps and logs could be
torn apart and searched, flat rocks were found to provide the main
source of nesting sites. These nest rocks varied from less than an inch
in thickness to nine inches or more, and from a few inches in diameter
to three feet or more. Some were resting loosely on the surface of the
soil and others were deeply sunken, on one side. Some were in situations
exposing them to nearly the maximum amount of sunshine whereas others
were in sites nearly always shaded. The varied character of the nesting
sites chosen demonstrated a wide range of tolerance for temperature,
moisture, and other factors, in the gravid and brooding female and in
the developing embryo.
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