Northern prairie skink - Plestiodon septentrionalis

• 5-7 inches total length
• Found in open grass covered, rocky hillsides near streams
• Active during day
• Feed on arthropods, snails and smaller lizards

Interesting fact:

• Many skinks are able to autotomize (voluntarily break) their tails to distract predators while they escape. The tail then grows back, but the regrown portion of the tail has no bone, only a rod made of cartilage.