Top : Ground skink ( Scincella lateralis ). Photo by J . D . Willson . Drab brown bodies of tiny ground skinks blend in among dead leaves on the forest floor . Bottom : Scarlet snake . ( Cemophora coccinea ). Photo by Parker Gibbons . Scarlet snakes have a striking , highly visible color pattern yet they are found aboveground only at night .
Another unsolved color phenomenon occurs in the ground skink , Kiawah ’ s smallest lizard . These little brown creatures scamper among the dead leaves and other organic ground litter throughout Kiawah . They are nondescript when observed from above . However , during the spring breeding period , males can be readily distinguished from females as the bellies of the former turn yellow . No scientific explanation has been provided for the seasonal color change on an unexposed part of the body . Likewise , the seldom-encountered eastern mud turtle associated with small freshwater depressions on
Kiawah is hand-sized as an adult and mostly black or brown with a dull yellow underside . A newborn baby mud turtle has a solid black carapace — and a bright red belly with no obvious survival value .
Snake colors continue to perplex herpetologists who search for explanations . Kiawah ’ s scarlet snakes have striking blackbordered red blotches separated by white rings . Are they mimicking coral snakes to discourage an attack by a bird predator ? Considering that no coral snakes have been found on Kiawah , nor are they found in most of the scarlet snake ’ s
42 Naturally Kiawah