Description: Adult Western skinks have a broad brown stripe down their backs, edged with black and bordered on each side by a conspicuous whitish to beige dorsolateral stripe that begins on nose and extends over the eye and back alongside body onto the tail. A second pale stripe, starting on upper jaw, occurs low on each side and is separated from the first by a broad dark brown or black band originating on the side of head and usually extending well out onto the tail, though this band can be disrupted if the tail is lost and regrown. Juvenile skink's tails are bright blue, turning to grey in adulthood. In the breeding season reddish or orange color appears on the side of head and chin, and occasionally on the sides, tip, and underside of the tail. They usually have seven supralabial scales and four enlarged nuchals. Young skinks' colorations are more vivid than those of adults.

Habitat: Found in a variety of habitats from sea level to at least 7,000 feet, the western skink is commonest in early successional stages or open areas within habitats in which it occurs. Heavy brush and densely forested areas are generally avoided. The western skink seems to prefer a somewhat moist environment, although it can also be found on dry hillsides. Frequents grassland, broken chaparral, pinon-juniper and juniper-sage woodland, and open pine-oak and pine forests. The soil of its nest chambers is invariably moist. Standing water is apparently not required. Although Western skinks avoid forests, they are found in dry areas within forested areas.

Range: Western skinks can be found from southern British Columbia, Canada, to the tip of the Baja California Peninsula, and throughout most of Great Basin to extreme Northern Arizona; central Utah to the Pacific Coast. The species is apparently absent from the floor of San Joaquin Valley (they have been observed in rural areas of southeast Lodi, CA), central Sierra Nevada (except a few scattered locations in the foothills where they are very common), and lowland deserts of California. In Northern Baja, California the species occurs in the northwestern part at least as far south as Colonia Guerro and in the south in the cape and Comondu regions, Santa Agueda, and San Francisco de la Sierra. On Santa Catalina, Los Coronados, and Todos Santos Island off the coast of California.

Found in these States: AZ | CA | ID | MT | NV | OR | UT | WA

Diet: Their diet ranges widely, including spiders and beetles.

Reproduction: The reproductive season for this species varies geographically and from year to year depending on local conditions. Mating probably occurs in the spring soon after emergence. Males turn orange on the underside when they are breeding. Females lay 2 to 6 eggs during June and July. Western skinks' eggs hatch in the months of July and August; the exact time differs by geographic location. They reach sexual maturity at around 3 years, and live up to 9 years.

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.

Subspecies: Three, all found in the United States:
   Coronado Skink - (Plestiodon skiltonianus interparietalis)
   Skilton's Skink - (Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus)
   Great Basin Skink - (Plestiodon skiltonianus utahensis)

Taxonomy: