Great Plains Skink Eumeces obsoletus by Jeff LeClere Kansas specimen Status Great plains skinks are listed as endangered species in Iowa due to their restricted range. The other two skinks have uniform lateral scale rows. Great plains skinks also look different than the other two skink species.
Adults are brown or black with a gold or light colored dot on each scale.
This coloration often takes over to produce a gold or tan lizard with black dots. The dark dots are sometimes arranged in such a way as to give the appearance of dark stripes, but these are not clean cut. These lizards are much larger than the other two Iowa skink species. Young are black with white dots on the lips, head and neck. The tail is bluish.