Broad-headed Skink (male) , Eumeces laticeps, hand-colored lithograph
Date 1842
Source North American herpetology; or, A description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States. , modified from Biodiversity Heritage Library
Author John Edwards Holbrook, 1794-1871
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eumeces_laticepsMHolbrookV2P16A.jpg

The broad-headed skink or broadhead skink (Plestiodon laticeps) is species of lizard, endemic to the southeastern United States. The broad-headed skink gets its name from the wide jaws, giving the head a triangular appearance. Adult males are brown or olive brown in color and have bright orange heads during the mating season in spring. Female broad-headed skinks have five light stripes running down the back and the tail.


Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Plestiodon
Species: Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms
- Scincus laticeps Schneider, 1801
- Plestiodon laticeps — A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839
- Eumeces laticeps — Taylor, 1936
- Plestiodon laticeps — Collins & Taggart, 2009