📸 PhotoPhoto: jpuf · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Japanese Five-lined Skink
Plestiodon japonicus (Japanese Five-lined Skink · ニホントカゲ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 An adult's maximum head-and-body length of 90 mm is slightly longer than the long side of a credit card (about 85.6 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Hachijojima Island has an established population introduced by humans (distribution notes in Reptile Database).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Japanese Five-lined Skink is a medium-sized skink living in western Japan.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It is a medium-sized species with an adult head-and-body length of about 60–90 mm, and 24–28 rows of scales around midbody.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is oviparous, laying eggs. It lives in Kyushu, Shikoku, western Honshu, and nearby small islands, and an introduced population also exists on Hachijojima in the Izu Islands.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2017) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/96265272/96265297
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 782DW
- • iucnredlist.org — 96265297
- • wikidata.org — Q3392323
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Plestiodon japonicus 302657915.jpg
- • reptile-database.reptarium.cz — species
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — David Orr · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Plestiodon fasciatus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.