. Montana amphibian and reptile status assessment, literature review, and conservation plan. Amphibians; Reptiles; Indicators (Biology); Habitat (Ecology); Wildlife conservation. Western Skink (Eumeces skiltonianus) Up-to-date distribution and status information can be found on the Montana Natural Heritage Program's TRACKER website at Distribution/Taxonomy The western skink is the most widespread, and possibly the most abundant, skink in western North America, being found west of the Continental Divide from southern British Columbia in the north, south through eastern Washington, Id
. Montana amphibian and reptile status assessment, literature review, and conservation plan. Amphibians; Reptiles; Indicators (Biology); Habitat (Ecology); Wildlife conservation. Western Skink (Eumeces skiltonianus) Up-to-date distribution and status information can be found on the Montana Natural Heritage Program's TRACKER website at Distribution/Taxonomy The western skink is the most widespread, and possibly the most abundant, skink in western North America, being found west of the Continental Divide from southern British Columbia in the north, south through eastern Washington, Idaho, western Montana, Oregon, northern and coastal California, Nevada, western Utah, northwestern Arizona, and southwestern California, to northern Baja California (Rodgers and Fitch 1947, Tanner 1988, Richmond and Reeder 2002), at elevations to about 2530 m (8300 ft). Four subspecies are sometimes recognized (Tanner 1988, Stebbins 2003): Eumeces skiltonianus skiltonianus in the northern Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast, E. s. utahensis in the core of the Great Basin, E. s. interparietalis of extreme southwest California and northern Baja California, and E. s. lagunensis isolated in the southern half of Baja California. Recent analyses of genetic and morphological traits from throughout the range of the western skink (Richmond and Reeder 2002) support the validity of the earlier classification of Tanner (1957), with three subspecies of western skink and the isolated subspecies E. s. lagunensis of southern Baja California considered a full species, the San Lucan skink (E. lagunensis). The form of western skink so far documented in Montana is Skilton's skink (E. s. skiltonianus), although the Great Basin skink (E. s. utahensis) is present in parts of Idaho abutting Beaverhead County, where suitable habitat occurs on both sides of the state boundary (Maxell et al. 2003). In Montana, there are about 50 records from five counties west of the Continental Divide; reports from Flathea
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