Description: 2.5 to 4.5 inches long from snout to vent. Tail can be up to nearly 2 times the body length. A large skink with a heavy body, small head, thick neck, small legs, and a smooth, shiny body with cycloid scales. The tongue is forked, and is frequently protruded. The long tail is easily detached. Adult coloring is olive or light brown with darker edging around the scales, and sometimes the appearance of faded light and dark stripes. Striping fades with age but it's retained longer than on P. g. gilberti. The tail becomes orange on older adults. Males develop bright reddish-orange coloring on the head during the breeding season. Females are smaller than males. Young look very much like adult P. s. skiltonianus, with distinct light and dark stripes and a blue tail. However, the dark stripe on the sides of young skinks usually extends only to near the base of the tail.
Habitat: These skinks can be found in a wide variety of habitats including grasslands, desert shrub, and pinyon-juniper stands. They prefer to be near water and avoid areas with dense vegetation.
Range: This subspecies is endemic to California in the Central coast range east and south of the Bay Area.
Diet: Primarily eats a variety of small ground-dwelling invertebrates, but as cannibalism has been reported, small vertebrates are probably occasionally consumed.
Reproduction: Adult Gilbert Skinks become reproductive in their second year of age. Not much is known about the timing of the breeding season. It varies based on location and elevation and local conditions. Mating probably occurs in late spring through early summer, most likely from April to June. Females lay a single clutch of eggs per year in summer, typically from June to August, containing from 3 to 9 eggs. The eggs are buried in loose moist soil, often under flat stones or in rotting logs. Females are thought to stay with the eggs to guard them as female Western Skinks do. Maternal care such as this is rare in lizards. Eggs probably hatch in late Summer, but hatchlings have also been observed as early as May.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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