BERGEN SWAMP
The Coal Skink
Article by Rich Sajdak, BSPS Trustee
The Coal Skink is among the less often seen reptiles at the Bergen Swamp. These lizards are 5-7 inches long, including a long tail. They have smooth, shiny scales and a brown or greenish back with two wide dark brown or black stripes running along the side of the body bordered by bright yellowish stripes. Males can get a reddish coloration along the jaws and sides of the head during breeding season. Juvenile skinks have a blue or dark violet tail.
They are often found under logs or other objects in both conifer and broad-leaf wooded areas and cedar bogs within the swamp, but seen scurrying from one piece of cover to another. Like many other lizards they feed on insects and other arthropods.
Of the four kinds of lizard know from New York, the Coal Skink is the only species known from the western half of the state. Their status in New York is unclear, they are only known from scattered locations, but being rather secretive they may be more common than currently understood.
