No. 1. At corner of pond rock pile.June 21, 1951. Female escaped when rock was turned. One egg measured 12.5 × 8 mm., mud-stained.June 22, 1951. Nest not in evidence when rock was turned; digging into loose soil beneath to a depth of about an inch I exposed the eggs but did not disturb them further.July 23, 1951. When rock was turned, female did not attempt to escape, but withdrew to far corner of nest cavity; when caught she voided a large scat which seemed to consist mainly ofCeuthophilusremains. Largest eggs in the clutch were 18 × 10 mm. but two were noticeably smaller, and all were heavily coated with dried mud.July 30, 1951. Six young in the nest cavity, still not fully active; all of them were heavily coated with dried mud.No. 2. At hilltop ledge, under flat rock 13 × 10 × 1 inches, with one edge sunken in soil; exposed to sunshine for most of day.June 24, 1951. Female, snout-vent length 70 mm., tail 27-51, weight 5 gms. Nine eggs, one of which measured 14 × 8 mm.July 18, 1951. Nine eggs still in their original nest cavity, attended by the female; she escaped into crevice behind the rock. The eggs were in slightly damp soil, and in contact with the undersurface of the rock on their upper sides; one egg was 17 × 10 mm.July 26, 1951. Eggs caked with dried mud; still attended by female.July 30, 1951. Dry and empty eggshells in nest cavity, evidently all the eggs had hatched; no other trace of female nor of young; July 28th seems most probable hatching date—if, on the 27th, some of eggs almost certainly would have shown signs of hatching on the 26th when they were examined, and if on the 29th some stragglers almost surely would have remained at the nest on July 30.No. 3. In small gully, on lower slope in hickory woods, beneath rock 9 × 9 × 1 inches, shaded by trees on south side for much of the day, especially during latter part of morning.June 24, 1951. The gravid female was deep in nest burrow.[71]June 29, 1951. When rock was lifted no trace of nest was visible except for slightly disturbed loose soil at the point where it had been. When some of this loose soil was cleared away, nest was revealed, with 11 eggs, mud-stained, approximately 12.5 × 8 mm. The female was cold and sluggish, and did not attempt to escape, but cowered in the back of the nest burrow, with jaws gaping; she was caught and marked.July 20, 1951. Eight eggs remaining in the nest—two were accidentally destroyed in moving them. These two were fertile and contained live embryos, one of which measured 29 mm. in over-all length. One of the remaining eggs was 16.5 × 10 mm. Female was present with the eggs.July 25, 1951. Eggs still present in the nest cavity; female not in evidence, but might have been concealed in corner of nest chamber as it was not disturbed.July 28, 1951. Female was again found with the eggs. One or more of the seven remaining eggs were punctured in moving them during their examination. Eggs about 16 × 10 mm.August 3, 1951. Female was in nest with the eggs some of which are slightly indented from drying.August 6, 1951. When rock was turned, female darted out and ran to cover about ten feet away. The eggs had hatched but two young remained in the nest cavity, still rather slow and feeble in their movements and not yet fully active. When routed from cover a second time, the female ran back to the nest rock and took shelter beneath it.No. 4. On upper slope above ledge, under a rock 18 × 9 inches, in site shaded most of day; burrow nearly concealed beneath rock.June 24, 1951. Nest occupied by a gravid female, apparently ready to lay.June 30, 1951. Rock covering this nest has been undermined by a mole tunnel, and many nearby rocks are undermined also. The eggs were almost certainly destroyed by the mole’s tunneling and may have been eaten by it, since no remains are in evidence.No. 5. At hilltop ledge beside old abandoned road, beneath flat rock nine inches in diameter and about 11â„2inches thick, shaded for first half of morning and most of afternoon, but exposed to mid-day sunshine.June 29, 1951. Standing water in bottom of nest chamber 11â„2inches below underside of the rock. Some of the eggs are more than half submerged. One egg is 14 × 8 mm.July 21, 1951. Entrance of abandoned nest burrow has been enlarged by running water channelled through in run-off during and after heavy rains; shrivelled remains of eggs present at the bottom of the burrow.No. 6. On grassy hilltop a few yards from ledge under flat rock, 9 × 6 × 2 inches.July 23, 1951. Large female (snout-vent length 75 mm.) with three eggs, 16 × 22 mm.July 27, 1951. Female escaped from nest cavity as rock was raised. Three eggs were still in the nest, and a young skink was partly emerged from one. A second egg not yet hatching was somewhat flaccid, 16 mm. long, heavily coated with dried mud. The third egg much shrivelled, was opened and found to have a dead fetus, perhaps a week short of hatching.[72]July 28, 1951. The flat rock which formerly covered the nest cavity was found to have been raised and displaced, and no trace of the female, eggs or young remained. Of possible predators that might have moved the rock and destroyed the nest, skunk and opossum seemed the most likely, but there was no definite clue as to the predator’s identity.No. 7. Two feet northeast of pond rock pile, under rock about one foot square on upper surface with maximum thickness of about eight inches, lying with upper side at 45-degree angle. The nest was under one edge, with approximately three inches of rock over it. The rock was exposed to sunshine throughout the day, except for grass shading its edges.July 23, 1951. When rock was turned, the female darted out of the nest cavity, but in her dash to escape she dropped into a nearby pitfall. When handled, she voided feces which contained the nearly intact shell of a skink egg. Six eggs present in the nest; one selected as typical was 111â„2× 8 mm. The eggs were slightly misshapen and might have been damaged from drying.July 26, 1951. When rock was raised, female darted out and escaped. The six eggs still remained in the nest.August 2, 1951. When rock was raised the female was not in evidence, and only three eggs could be found; they had fallen from the nest cavity to the bottom of the depression where the rock was imbedded and were somewhat dried and indented.No. 8. North slope, beneath rock approximately 18 × 15 × 4 inches, at edge of small gully, where shaded most of the time including mid-day hours.July 20, 1951. Female attempted to escape from the nest. Four eggs visible in nest, one 151â„2× 10 mm.July 25, 1951. When rock was raised the female ran from the nest.July 27, 1951. When rock was raised the female was in the nest with the eggs; she ran and hid beneath a boulder five feet away. After a few minutes she emerged and ran 15 feet to a hickory sapling and climbed it.July 28, 1951. Female was not in the nest but the four eggs were still present.July 30, 1951. Female found dead and partly eaten by ants beside rock one foot from nest; eggs still present in the nest.July 31, 1951. Eggs still present in the nest.August 3, 1951. Eggs still present, including some deep in the nest cavity which apparently were overlooked previously.August 6, 1951. One much indented egg found outside the nest cavity was opened and found to contain a live fetus, seemingly fully developed and normal. The opened egg was placed on damp soil in a shady place near the nest, but two hours later the hatchling had been killed and partly eaten by swarms of ants.August 9, 1951. The remaining eggs had disappeared, evidently taken by a predator as no empty shells remained to indicate that the young had hatched.
No. 1. At corner of pond rock pile.
June 21, 1951. Female escaped when rock was turned. One egg measured 12.5 × 8 mm., mud-stained.
June 22, 1951. Nest not in evidence when rock was turned; digging into loose soil beneath to a depth of about an inch I exposed the eggs but did not disturb them further.
July 23, 1951. When rock was turned, female did not attempt to escape, but withdrew to far corner of nest cavity; when caught she voided a large scat which seemed to consist mainly ofCeuthophilusremains. Largest eggs in the clutch were 18 × 10 mm. but two were noticeably smaller, and all were heavily coated with dried mud.
July 30, 1951. Six young in the nest cavity, still not fully active; all of them were heavily coated with dried mud.
No. 2. At hilltop ledge, under flat rock 13 × 10 × 1 inches, with one edge sunken in soil; exposed to sunshine for most of day.
June 24, 1951. Female, snout-vent length 70 mm., tail 27-51, weight 5 gms. Nine eggs, one of which measured 14 × 8 mm.
July 18, 1951. Nine eggs still in their original nest cavity, attended by the female; she escaped into crevice behind the rock. The eggs were in slightly damp soil, and in contact with the undersurface of the rock on their upper sides; one egg was 17 × 10 mm.
July 26, 1951. Eggs caked with dried mud; still attended by female.
July 30, 1951. Dry and empty eggshells in nest cavity, evidently all the eggs had hatched; no other trace of female nor of young; July 28th seems most probable hatching date—if, on the 27th, some of eggs almost certainly would have shown signs of hatching on the 26th when they were examined, and if on the 29th some stragglers almost surely would have remained at the nest on July 30.
No. 3. In small gully, on lower slope in hickory woods, beneath rock 9 × 9 × 1 inches, shaded by trees on south side for much of the day, especially during latter part of morning.
June 24, 1951. The gravid female was deep in nest burrow.
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June 29, 1951. When rock was lifted no trace of nest was visible except for slightly disturbed loose soil at the point where it had been. When some of this loose soil was cleared away, nest was revealed, with 11 eggs, mud-stained, approximately 12.5 × 8 mm. The female was cold and sluggish, and did not attempt to escape, but cowered in the back of the nest burrow, with jaws gaping; she was caught and marked.
July 20, 1951. Eight eggs remaining in the nest—two were accidentally destroyed in moving them. These two were fertile and contained live embryos, one of which measured 29 mm. in over-all length. One of the remaining eggs was 16.5 × 10 mm. Female was present with the eggs.
July 25, 1951. Eggs still present in the nest cavity; female not in evidence, but might have been concealed in corner of nest chamber as it was not disturbed.
July 28, 1951. Female was again found with the eggs. One or more of the seven remaining eggs were punctured in moving them during their examination. Eggs about 16 × 10 mm.
August 3, 1951. Female was in nest with the eggs some of which are slightly indented from drying.
August 6, 1951. When rock was turned, female darted out and ran to cover about ten feet away. The eggs had hatched but two young remained in the nest cavity, still rather slow and feeble in their movements and not yet fully active. When routed from cover a second time, the female ran back to the nest rock and took shelter beneath it.
No. 4. On upper slope above ledge, under a rock 18 × 9 inches, in site shaded most of day; burrow nearly concealed beneath rock.
June 24, 1951. Nest occupied by a gravid female, apparently ready to lay.
June 30, 1951. Rock covering this nest has been undermined by a mole tunnel, and many nearby rocks are undermined also. The eggs were almost certainly destroyed by the mole’s tunneling and may have been eaten by it, since no remains are in evidence.
No. 5. At hilltop ledge beside old abandoned road, beneath flat rock nine inches in diameter and about 11â„2inches thick, shaded for first half of morning and most of afternoon, but exposed to mid-day sunshine.
June 29, 1951. Standing water in bottom of nest chamber 11â„2inches below underside of the rock. Some of the eggs are more than half submerged. One egg is 14 × 8 mm.
July 21, 1951. Entrance of abandoned nest burrow has been enlarged by running water channelled through in run-off during and after heavy rains; shrivelled remains of eggs present at the bottom of the burrow.
No. 6. On grassy hilltop a few yards from ledge under flat rock, 9 × 6 × 2 inches.
July 23, 1951. Large female (snout-vent length 75 mm.) with three eggs, 16 × 22 mm.
July 27, 1951. Female escaped from nest cavity as rock was raised. Three eggs were still in the nest, and a young skink was partly emerged from one. A second egg not yet hatching was somewhat flaccid, 16 mm. long, heavily coated with dried mud. The third egg much shrivelled, was opened and found to have a dead fetus, perhaps a week short of hatching.
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July 28, 1951. The flat rock which formerly covered the nest cavity was found to have been raised and displaced, and no trace of the female, eggs or young remained. Of possible predators that might have moved the rock and destroyed the nest, skunk and opossum seemed the most likely, but there was no definite clue as to the predator’s identity.
No. 7. Two feet northeast of pond rock pile, under rock about one foot square on upper surface with maximum thickness of about eight inches, lying with upper side at 45-degree angle. The nest was under one edge, with approximately three inches of rock over it. The rock was exposed to sunshine throughout the day, except for grass shading its edges.
July 23, 1951. When rock was turned, the female darted out of the nest cavity, but in her dash to escape she dropped into a nearby pitfall. When handled, she voided feces which contained the nearly intact shell of a skink egg. Six eggs present in the nest; one selected as typical was 111â„2× 8 mm. The eggs were slightly misshapen and might have been damaged from drying.
July 26, 1951. When rock was raised, female darted out and escaped. The six eggs still remained in the nest.
August 2, 1951. When rock was raised the female was not in evidence, and only three eggs could be found; they had fallen from the nest cavity to the bottom of the depression where the rock was imbedded and were somewhat dried and indented.
No. 8. North slope, beneath rock approximately 18 × 15 × 4 inches, at edge of small gully, where shaded most of the time including mid-day hours.
July 20, 1951. Female attempted to escape from the nest. Four eggs visible in nest, one 151â„2× 10 mm.
July 25, 1951. When rock was raised the female ran from the nest.
July 27, 1951. When rock was raised the female was in the nest with the eggs; she ran and hid beneath a boulder five feet away. After a few minutes she emerged and ran 15 feet to a hickory sapling and climbed it.
July 28, 1951. Female was not in the nest but the four eggs were still present.
July 30, 1951. Female found dead and partly eaten by ants beside rock one foot from nest; eggs still present in the nest.
July 31, 1951. Eggs still present in the nest.
August 3, 1951. Eggs still present, including some deep in the nest cavity which apparently were overlooked previously.
August 6, 1951. One much indented egg found outside the nest cavity was opened and found to contain a live fetus, seemingly fully developed and normal. The opened egg was placed on damp soil in a shady place near the nest, but two hours later the hatchling had been killed and partly eaten by swarms of ants.
August 9, 1951. The remaining eggs had disappeared, evidently taken by a predator as no empty shells remained to indicate that the young had hatched.
Cagle (1940:229 and 232) has graphically described and illustrated the hatching of the five-lined skink, and numerous observations in the present study have served to corroborate his description. The first indication that the time of hatching is at hand is a twitchingor jerking movement within the egg which continues until the shell is slit. According to Noble and Mason (1933:5) the shell is slit with the elongate premaxillary egg tooth which has its distal third bent forward nearly at right angles to its base. Some young remain for an hour or more with only the snout visible, however, once the head is extruded it is not again withdrawn unless the lizard is badly startled. The eyes are opened and blinked slowly, closed for a few minutes, and opened again. After the eyes have become adjusted, the fore-body emerges and the front legs are freed. In one clutch, observed by Cagle, hatching time for individual eggs varied from 45 minutes to five and three-fourths hours. If startled by visual or tactile stimuli, the little skink may lunge forward through the slit shell, with a sudden straightening of its body, and rush away for several inches. Its movements are slow, stiff and clumsy as compared with those of a skink that is a few days old and fully active. Hatching of a clutch ordinarily extends over 24 hours or more. Some of the young may be fully hatched and active before others from the same clutch have slit their eggshells.
Eggs ready to hatch ordinarily weigh somewhat more than one gram, up to at least as much as 1.7 grams, but much of this weight is made up of water absorbed during incubation. The hatchlings usually weigh from .2 to .45 grams. For each of two eggshells recently vacated, that were washed and squeezed dry, weights were approximately .125 grams. Hatchlings of the same brood differ perceptibly in size with several per cent variation in total length, and weight. Some seem to be less fully developed than others. On July 8, 1952, hatching of the last young in a clutch was observed. Upon emergence, it differed in appearance from the others of the brood hatched a few hours earlier. The top of its head bulged slightly as in fetuses. The umbilicus was not yet closed, and the protruding yolk mass hindered the hatchling’s movements and made crawling difficult. In order to progress it had to stand high off the ground to prevent its ventral surface from dragging. Protrusion of the yolk mass has been described in newly emerged hatchlings for the closely relatedE. anthracinus(Clausen, 1938:3-7) as well as infasciatus. Cagle (loc. cit.) states that the mass of yolk is at first about 3 mm. in diameter, but is completely used at the end of the third day. A group of young retained by him, without food, died the sixth day after hatching, seemingly from starvation. Three of five recently hatched young were found by Cagle to have eaten ant pupae placed in a box with them on the preceding day, even though the skinks still retained the yolk masses. One hatchling of this groupate its own tail that had been broken off in handling. Cagle described a color change taking place during the first few hours after hatching; the ground color, dull greenish at first, darkens to an iridescent black, the pale stripes are altered from an original tan color to bronze, with a tinge of reddish on the head, and the ventral surface which is partially transparent showing the outlines of the internal organs at first, soon becomes opaque white.
Contrary to the statement by Noble and Mason (1933:5) that in captivity the hatchlings seldom stayed together more than a few hours, litters of young fully active, a day or two after hatching were found in the nests with the females still looped around them on several occasions. On one such occasion, although the brood scattered immediately into surrounding vegetation where they hid, I succeeded in catching the female and six of the young, and put them all together in a nylon bag to carry them back to the laboratory. Several hours after the bag had been placed on a table it was noticed that the family had again gathered into a compact cluster in the bag with the female’s body looped around the young in the characteristic brooding position seen in those with young or eggs in their nest cavities. When hatching is complete, the female may leave before the young have dispersed. On August 5, 1950, a nest under observation was found to have all of the young or most of them still clustered in the cavity, but the female was not in evidence. The young were active, and immediately took alarm as the rock was raised exposing them. Almost instantly, they scattered and vanished. Subsequent search revealed five of the young, each poorly concealed in tufts of grass or under dry leaves or other ground litter at the edges of the depression where the rock had lain. Once hidden, these young were reluctant to run again and depended on concealment.
Having once left the nest, the young probably do not return to it, as many nests examined within a few days after hatching were never found occupied either by females or young after their original dispersal. As soon as the dispersal occurs family ties are permanently severed. On July 19, 1950, a group of active hatchlings was observed moving about over a log, on what was probably the first day of activity away from the nest. The log was in the bottom of a steep-walled gully, where it had come to rest the night before. It had been an erect but dead and partly undermined snag on the edge of the gully, and was blown down that night in a violent thunderstorm. Most of the log was held clear of the rushing water in the bottom of the gully by projecting limbs. The little skinkswere darting in and out of holes and crevices in the log, pausing frequently to bask. As many as four were in sight simultaneously, but probably the total included several more, as it was difficult to keep track of individuals. An adult female, presumably the mother of the litter was also present, but she took no interest in the young, and they showed no evidence of dependence on her. On the contrary, several times when one or another of the young happened to come near the female in the course of its wandering, and noticed her, it was seen to shy away in sudden alarm.
Fig. 11.Sizes on specific dates of young hatched in 1950 and 1952. Approximate size ranges at different times of year, and differences in trend between the two years are brought out.
Fig. 11.Sizes on specific dates of young hatched in 1950 and 1952. Approximate size ranges at different times of year, and differences in trend between the two years are brought out.
The young were much more active than the female. These and other young observed in the open were almost constantly in motion. Pauses to bask at any one spot were of only a few seconds duration. A certain log in Skink Woods evidently was the site of one or more successful skink nests each year that observations were made, although a nest was actually found in it only in 1948. On July 26, 1950, recently hatched young were active on this log. Temperature was about 22°C. and the young were alternating frequently between shade and sunshine to maintain their body temperature. Collectively they seemed to cover every square inch of the log surface, poking and probing into niches, crevices and insect borings. They had a tendency to seek out the highest points on the log as resting places.
In moving about, foraging or sunning, the young often carry the tail arched high, and keep it in motion with slow squirming undulations. These undulations may be continued even when the lizard itself has come to rest momentarily. The movements of the tail together with its vivid blue color serve to attract attention to it. Such behavior has not been observed in adults or partly grown young. Jopson (1938:90) observed an instance in which two dogs cornered a young five-lined skink (either the present species orE. laticeps) but were distracted by the wriggling of its bright blue tail “either dropped by autotomy or knocked off†so that the skink itself was allowed to escape. On another occasion these same two dogs attacking an adult male skink, were not distracted by the wriggling but dull colored broken tail, and they killed the lizard.
The subject of growth inEumeceswas briefly discussed by Taylor (1936:66) in his revision of the genus. Sorting fairly large series of museum specimens into seeming age-size groups, Taylor concluded that skinks require as much as 9 or 10 years to attain adult size. Forfasciatus, for instance, the snout-vent length of 65.7 mm. (small adult size) was considered typical of individuals in their ninth year of life, with yearly gain of only 6 or 7 mm. in length in the young. I have seen the original data on which this conclusion was based, and the age groupings, as assigned by Taylor, seemed plausible. However, in the light of present knowledge, it is certain that the seeming intervals between his assumed age groups would have disappeared with a still larger series of specimens. The eight or nine size groups that Taylor recognized as distinct annual age groups actually comprise only two age groups, each having suchwide dispersion of individuals (by retardation of some and acceleration of others) that there is overlapping in size between them.
Growth in reptiles is now much better understood. Many species have been studied by a variety of methods, including observation of growth in captives, recording of growth in marked individuals living under natural conditions, and sorting of large series into age-size groups. Two species ofEumeceshave been studied in some detail. Breckenridge (1943:601-602) marked all the individuals ofseptentrionalisthat could be found in a small colony in Minnesota and he concluded from the growth recorded in several that were recaptured, that these skinks grow to mature size (65 mm. and larger) at the end of their second year of life and are ready to breed the following spring. Rodgers and Memmler (1943:61) plotted the size distribution of a large year-round collection ofskiltonianusfrom near Berkeley, California. They found that in this species hatching occurs in July and August, hatchlings are about 25 mm. in snout-vent length, and grow to about 50 mm. by the time they are one year old, and to about 65 mm. at two years of age, but most of them breed at the end of their third year. Within the genus the speciesseptentrionalisandskiltonianusbelong to groups separate from each other and from that includingfasciatus. Whileseptentrionalisandskiltonianusresemble each other in their growth pattern and in the time required to reach sexual maturity,fasciatusis notably different in its more rapid growth and the shorter time it requires to reach breeding maturity. This would scarcely be expected, as all three are of similar size. Furthermore,skiltonianusin the region of Rodgers’ and Memmler’s study has a longer growing season thanfasciatusin northeastern Kansas, whileseptentrionalisin Minnesota has a growing season markedly shorter than either. It is noteworthy that each of these three skinks is the northernmost lizard in the section of the country where it occurs.
In the present study growth was investigated by measuring and marking large numbers of young, many of which were recaptured for subsequent records, and by sorting into age-size groups all available measurements. An understanding of the latter set of data was facilitated by correlating it with the growth records of marked individuals. Changes in the phenology of growth from year to year according to weather conditions were noted.
As already indicated, hatching occurs from early July to mid-August in northeastern Kansas. Unseasonably cool weather with frequent rains may cause cumulative delay in breeding and incubation so that hatching may average several weeks later than it doesin years with relatively warm and dry weather during the breeding season. Within any one year hatching time is concentrated, so that the majority of the young hatch within a period of two weeks, but microclimates in the situations where the nests are made may differ enough to cause this much spread. Individuals living on north slopes in thick woods, and receiving the minimum amount of sunlight may have their emergence from hibernation and attainment of breeding condition delayed. Later, nesting in the same situations, they may have incubation of their clutches similarly delayed.
Newly hatched young average just under an inch in snout-vent length (23-27 mm.) and weigh .2 to .45 grams. Most rapid growth occurs in the period of weeks following hatching. The growth rate during this late summer period cannot be well shown by comparing average size of series taken on successive dates, because each series is likely to include some newly hatched young.
In 1949, a series of recently hatched young averaged 26.7 mm. on July 10. By August 26, average length in a series collected was 42.9 mm., indicating an average gain of at least .35 mm. per day. One that may be considered typical was marked on July 23, 1950, soon after hatching, and it had a snout-vent length of 26.5 mm. and weighed .25 grams. It was recaptured just a month later when it had grown to 36 mm. snout-vent length, and weighed .8 grams. Potential growth rate under favorable conditions is shown by the fact that some individuals have attained a snout-vent length of 50 mm. by the third week of August, thus approximately doubling their hatching length. A maximum growth rate of about .5 mm. per day is indicated for these accelerated individuals, but on the average, young are considerably less than 50 mm. in length even when they enter hibernation. At the other extreme, representing retarded growth, is an individual having a snout-vent length of only 34 mm. on May 1. It must have been approximately nine months old on that date, but of course had spent at least six months in hibernation. Even if it made rapid growth subsequently, this yearling could scarcely have attained by midsummer the pre-hibernation length of the most accelerated individuals.
During the growing season following their first hibernation period, the young grow to small adult size in most instances. After emerging from a second hibernation they mature sexually and constitute an important part of the breeding population.
Many of the skinks marked before their first hibernation, as hatchlings, when they were a few days or a few weeks old, were subsequently recaptured as well-grown yearlings or small adults,affording ample information as to the usual growth rate and the extremes of acceleration or retardation that occasionally occur. Records of selected individuals in this group of skinks, marked early in life and recaptured after a hibernation, are recorded below.
Table 8. Records of Individual Skinks Marked as Hatchlings (Before the First Hibernation) and Recaptured the Following Year. Rapid Rate of Early Growth Is Shown.
Many other young were not caught and marked until the growing season following their first hibernation, and were recaptured within this second growing season weeks or months after they were originally marked, and after they had made substantial growth. Those recaptured near the end of this second growing season, when they were a year old, or a little more, usually had attained small adult size or were nearing it. Selected records of these yearlings are presented below.
Table 9. Selected Records of Individual Skinks Marked as Yearlings (After Emergence From the First Hibernation) and Recaptured One or More Times the Same Year. Rapid Growth Is Shown.
Adult skinks can be found in greatest numbers in the breeding season and many of the young that were marked were recaptured as newly matured breeding adults soon after their second hibernation, often still short of average adult size. Selected records of such individuals are presented below.
Table 10. Records of Individual Skinks Marked as Young and Recaptured as Adults.