Above : Coastal rat snake . ( Pantherophis obsoletus ). Adult rat snakes on Kiawah Island are yellowish-green with dark stripes . Below right : Juvenile broad-headed skink ( Eumeces laticeps ). Photo by Parker Gibbons . Yellow lines on the body change to blue on the tail of young broad-headed skinks .
Kiawah ’ s mammals , the gaudiest and most vibrant hair colors are reserved for the daring and the fashionable of our species , Homo sapiens .
Lesser known among vertebrates are Kiawah ’ s 30 kinds of reptiles and amphibians . All except the loggerhead sea turtle are permanent inhabitants . Some have colors as varied and vibrant as birds and will be familiar to many of Kiawah ’ s residents , by personal observation , from a friend ’ s eyewitness report , or through reading . Blue-tailed skinks with yellow stripes , orange and red corn snakes , and yellow rat snakes are a few of Kiawah ’ s common reptiles with distinctive color patterns . Among the amphibians , Kiawah ’ s single salamander species , a member of the slimy salamander group , is in no way colorful , being solid black or with white speckling . On the other hand , the yellow racing stripe down the side of a green treefrog will get anyone ’ s attention .
Among the array of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates native to Kiawah Island and its surrounding marshes lie the answers to why particular animals display the colors they do and when they do so . Knowing the importance of color to wildlife can make watching native species more enjoyable for amateurs and more experienced naturalists .
Look at Me ! Look at Me ! Mating Coloration Plants use color to great advantage , particularly for advertising . Some distinctively colored flowers attract insects
essential for pollination , often luring them with a treat of nectar . Birds also assist with an additional step in the life cycle of some plants . Bright red or yellow berries attract robins and cedar waxwings . The bird gets a meal and will later deposit the plant ’ s seed in another area .
Seasonal color change among some animals is generally recognized and needs little explanation . For example , males of many bird species take on brighter , more eyecatching plumage in spring to attract females . Year-round residents like cardinals , as well as neotropical migrants like indigo buntings that make stopovers on Kiawah , add to the environmental palette of spring colors . Similar breeding coloration for reptiles is most apparent among the lizards , the most dramatic on Kiawah being two species of five-lined skinks .
The largest of the skinks is the broad-headed skink ; adult males reach almost a foot in length . These lizards begin life with colors rivaling many birds : a metallic blue tail and five neon yellow stripes running the length of a shiny ,
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