An Exotic Lizard Has Just Made Its Way To Rhode Island For The First Time

It isn't every day we discover a new creature in Rhode Island... in fact, it doesn't even happen every year. But recently, a new little critter was found right here in the Ocean State for the very first time in history. And while we're not entirely sure how they made it over the border, we hope they'll feel comfortable enough to stick around.

It all started in the town of South Kingstown last spring.

Emilie Holland, the president of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, was working in her yard last April she noticed an unusual creature hiding beneath a pile of junk.

At first, Holland assumed it was a kind of salamander she'd never seen before.

But once she got a good look at it, she knew it was something rare for Rhody. After doing some research, she learned it was a five-lined skink, and the first known one in Rhode Island at that.

The five-lined skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae that's native to North America.

Young American five-lined skinks are dark brown or black with five distinctive white to yellow stripes running along the body and a bright blue tail.

As the skinks age, the blue color fades, and so do the stripes.

This is what an older skink tends to look like.

So... how did these little creatures end up in Rhode Island? We're not sure.

They're typically spotted in the Southeast, but they are found in small numbers as far north as southern Ontario and western Massachusetts. It’s unlikely the lizards found their way here naturally, so they may have hitched a ride on some compost or mulch.

As of right now, the five-lined skinks are being monitored by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

They're basically being treated like an exotic pet that doesn't belong here. However, their arrival may be a signal of an expansion of our biodiversity. It's just too soon to tell.

Have you spotted a skink in Rhody yet?