Description: The two subspecies can be distinguished by their color and their stripes. The long-lined skink is gray to light brown in color and has light stripes from the eyes extending to beyond its forelegs, whereas the short-lined skink is darker in color and has stripes that end before the forelegs. Juveniles of both subspecies have — like many Plestiodon — a blue tail; this color fades with age. Adults reach a maximum SVL (Snout-Vent-Length) of some about 3 inches, and a TL (total length) of about 7.1 inches.

Habitat: Both subspecies live in lightly wooded areas, with the short-lined skink having a preference for rocky areas, whereas the long-lined skink is also found in grasslands.

Range: Plestiodon tetragrammus occurs in northern Mexico and along the Mexican Gulf coast and in western and central Texas.

Found in these States: TX

Diet: Eats insects and spiders.

Reproduction: The female lays about 5 to 12 eggs once a year, which she broods. Males develop orange (short-lined skink) to red (long-lined skink) coloration of the head during the breeding season. Eggs are laid from April through late spring or early summer; clutch size is about 5 to 12. Female attends eggs until hatching.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: