Harmless · Native to the United States

Broad-headed skink

Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider, 1801)

Also called red-headed scorpion, Eumeces laticeps (former name)
Data updated October 2026

Adult male broad-headed skink on a tree trunk, with a swollen orange-red head and olive-brown body
Fig. 1 — Breeding male on a tree trunk. The wide jaws and orange-red head appear in spring.
Juvenile broad-headed skink with a black body, five narrow yellow stripes and a bright blue tail
Fig. 2 — Young are black with five yellow stripes and a blue tail.

At a glance

The largest skink in the eastern United States, reaching almost 13 inches. It climbs more than any other skink in its range, often living in tree holes. It is harmless; its bite rarely breaks the skin.

01

Identification

The broad-headed skink is a big, shiny lizard with smooth scales and a wide head. Adult males are usually olive brown with faint or no stripes, and in breeding season the head swells at the jaws and turns orange-red. Females are tan to brown with light and dark stripes, the widest dark stripe running along each side. Young are black with five narrow yellow or cream lines and a bright blue tail. The stripes and blue fade as they age.

  1. 01Wide orange-red head. Breeding males develop swollen jowls and a bright orange-red head.
  2. 02Lip scale count. Usually 8 upper lip scales, with the 6th touching the eye; five-lined skinks have 7, with the 5th touching the eye.
  3. 03Large size. Adults can pass 3¼ inches from snout to vent and reach nearly 13 inches in total.

Commonly confused with

02

Size

03 in6 in9 in12 in15 in18 in21 in24 in Typical adult · about 10 in (25 cm)

Adults are 6½ to 12¾ inches (16–32 cm) long including the tail, which is a little over half the total. The snout-to-vent length of a large adult is more than 3¼ inches. Males grow larger than females. A lost tail grows back shorter and drab gray.

03

Range & habitat

Open hardwood forest with a large dead tree full of cavities
Fig. 3 — Dead trees with cavities and woodpecker holes are favorite retreats.

Broad-headed skinks live across the southeastern and south-central United States, from Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to Indiana, Missouri, eastern Kansas and Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. They prefer open forest and forest edges with plenty of dead wood. More than other skinks in their range, they live in trees, hiding in cavities and abandoned woodpecker holes many feet up. They also use stumps, large logs and old farm buildings, and in towns they can be common on woodpiles, tree trunks, rock gardens and wooden decks.

04

Diet & predators

Broad-headed skinks hunt by sight and by tongue-flicking for scent. Insects and spiders make up most of the diet, along with land snails and other invertebrates. Large adults also take small lizards and their eggs, small snakes, baby mice and even young skinks of their own species. They hunt both in trees and on the ground.

Feeds on

  • Insects such as crickets and beetles
  • Spiders
  • Land snails
  • Small lizards, eggs and baby mice

Preyed on by

  • Hawks and other birds
  • Larger snakes
  • Some mammals
  • Adult broad-headed skinks (eat the young)
Field cricket on bark
Prey — insects.
Red-tailed hawk perched on a branch
Predator — hawks.

05

Behavior & seasons

These skinks are active by day and spend much of their time climbing tree trunks, coming down to hunt, mate and nest. When grabbed, the tail breaks off and keeps wriggling to distract the predator, and a new, shorter tail grows back. They also escape by climbing, swimming or hiding under debris. A captured skink may bite, but the bite rarely breaks the skin and is not dangerous. Old Ozark folk called skinks “scorpions,” but they are not venomous.

They are active mainly from April to October. In the northern part of the range they hibernate from about October to March. Males are strongly territorial in the breeding season and fight rival males.

06

Reproduction

Broad-headed skinks lay eggs. Mating takes place in late spring, and females prefer large males with the brightest heads; a male guards his mate for about a week afterward. Females lay their eggs in rotting stumps and logs, tree cavities, under bark or in rotting lumber. A single female lays about 6 to 25 eggs, and very large clutches may come from several females sharing a nest. The female coils around the eggs and stays with them for several weeks until they hatch in mid to late summer. Young mature at about 2 years.

07

Conservation

The broad-headed skink is not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. It is one of the more often seen skinks in Missouri, and populations in the Chesapeake Bay region are considered stable. Keeping dead trees, logs and stumps in woodlands helps provide its homes and nest sites.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages