These skinks get swollen heads, climb trees and sometimes shed their tails

Skinks are lizards — lesser-known relatives of the familiar green anoles so common here in the Lowcountry.

As a group, skinks (family Scincidae) are among the most widespread of all lizards, found on every continent except Antarctica. Worldwide there are over 1,500 species, including six in South Carolina.

The biggest in our area is the broad-headed skink (Eumeces laticeps), found in coastal maritime forests and other open, wooded areas. Adults can reach lengths of 13 inches. Like skinks in general, they have relatively small legs, no pronounced neck, and a long, tapered tail.

Male broad-headed skinks are readily identifiable by their brown body and tail, along with a triangular-shaped head that turns swollen and vibrant orange during the spring breeding season.

Females are brownish overall and retain, faintly, the stripes originally present in both sexes as juveniles.

Although often found on the ground, broad-headed skinks are also arboreal, more so than other Lowcountry species. Look for them on the branches of live oaks and other trees, foraging or soaking up the sun.

Skinks have strong jaws and use both sight and smell (by flicking their tongues) to prey on insects, spiders, pill bugs, snails and other small invertebrates.

They themselves are eaten by various predators, including birds, raccoons, snakes, and domestic cats.

When threatened or attacked, a skink may readily shed its tail, a defensive mechanism called “autotomy.” The detached tail continues to thrash about, distracting the predator while the skink escapes. A new tail eventually grows back, but usually it’s shorter, and it’s made of cartilage rather than bone.

Interestingly, in some skinks, including the broad-headed variety, juveniles have a vibrant blue tail, which may make it all the more conspicuous and enticing to a predator. The bright color fades after sexual maturity, when more bodily resources are channeled into reproduction.

Receptive female broad-headed skinks advertise their presence to males by releasing a pheromone from glands near the base of the tail. After mating, females lay eggs within leaf litter or other debris and guard them during development.

Some weeks later, soon after hatching, the miniature skinks quickly disperse to start lives of their own.

Compared to other southeastern lizards, broad-head skinks have long potential life spans — up to seven or eight years.