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4 days ago

This week’s #whatisitwednesday was a bit of a trick question because we don’t actually know the correct answer :)Illinois has two species of skink whose young and females are nearly identical. Even the adult males can be difficult to tell apart at times and can stump professional herpetologists. Plestiodon fasciatus (the Five-lined Skink) and Plestiodon laticeps (the Broadheaded Skink) both have the bright blue tail and light stripes as juveniles. Adult males of both species develop orange/red heads, with the Broadheaded Skink male having a broader head. The only sure way to tell them apart is to count the scales above the lip (supralabial scales and postlabial scales). Five-lined Skinks have 7 supra and 2 post-labial scales, while Broadheaded Skinks have 8 supra and 1 post-labial scales. Because this skink took cover under my foot, I was unable to grab it and examine the scales, so we will just call it Plestiodon sp.Thanks to Peter Paplanus for sharing his photo of Plestiodon laticeps with us to share with you all. You can see more of his awesome photos on flickr - 2ndpeter#lizards #skinks #reptiles ... See MoreSee Less

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INHS PACE Lab

6 days ago

#WhatIsItWednesday We flipped a log and this little critter tried to take shelter under my foot. Can you identify it? ... See MoreSee Less

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INHS PACE Lab

1 week ago

We want to welcome the newest member of our team, Katrina Cotten!Katrina recently started as the Terrestrial Ecologist for the Illinois Natural History Survey PaCE Lab where she will be leading bat surveys for the Urban Biotic Assessment Program (ubap.inhs.illinois.edu). Katrina received her B.Sc. in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences at Illinois. During her undergrad, she worked in the Human-Wildlife Interactions Lab ((wildlife.nres.illinois.edu/), where she was first introduced to working with bats. She completed a summer research project examining predation risks at natural versus artificial roosts in southern Indiana. This coincided with netting for Indiana (Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) in the same area as part of the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (heeforeststudy.org/) to assess how different types of forest management impact animals. We look forward to seeing and sharing her future work!#fieldwork #bats #conservation #illinoistollway #ubap ... See MoreSee Less

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