Western skink (Eumeces skiltonianus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 4

Distribution

Eumeces skiltonianus ranges from south-central British Columbia southward to the southern tip of Baja California (Fig. 1, Tanner 1988). From west to east, the range extends from the Pacific coast in Oregon and northern California to extreme western Montana, Idaho, and Utah, just reaching the northwestern portion of Arizona. Disjunct populations are present in southern Baja California and east of the Sierra Nevada in California. The species has been reported at elevations up to 2134-2440 m in the southern parts of its range (7000-8000', Smith 1946, Tanner 1957) and at elevations up to 1524 m in southern Oregon (5000'; Storm and Leonard 1995).

Figure 1. Geographic distribution of Eumeces skiltonianus in North America based on range map in Tanner (1988).

Figure 1. Geographic distribution of Eumeces skiltonianus in North Americabased on range map in Tanner (1988)

In Canada, the species is restricted to a small portion of British Columbia between Kootenay Lake in the east and Princeton in the west, south of latitude 51˚N (Fig. 2). Western skinks in British Columbia have been sighted at elevations up to 1080 m.

Figure 2. Geographic distribution of Eumeces skiltonianus in Canada. Adapted from Ovaska and Engelstoft, unpubl. data and Gregory and Campbell, 1984.

Figure 2. Geographic distribution of Eumeces skiltonianus in Canada. Adapted from Ovaska and Engelstoft, unpubl. data and Gregory and Campbell, 1984.

One recent sighting and an older listing indicate that the species might also inhabit Vancouver Island (McNicholl 1975). Boulenger (1887, cited in McNicholl 1975) listed Vancouver Island as the locality for a specimen donated to the British Museum of Natural History but gave no further details. This record was considered invalid by most authorities (but see Van Denburgh 1922) until the publication of a sight record from near Courtney on Vancouver Island (McNicholl 1975). No further observations have been recorded, and whether the sighting represented a recent introduction or possibly only a single introduced animal is unclear. Gregory and Campbell (1984) included the sighting in their range map for E. skiltonianus in British Columbia, and Tanner (1988) included it as a questionable location in his species account for the Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. The existence of E. skiltonianus populations on Vancouver Island remains enigmatic.

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