Distribution and Life History Notes on the Southeastern Five-Lined Skink, Eumeces inexpectatus Taylor, in Kentucky Eric M. Rundquist and Joseph T. Collins Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045 Barbour and Ernst (1971) defined the Mammoth Cave National Park (KU 143707-range of Eumeces inexpectatus in Kentucky 708); Lyon County: 7 mi (11 km) N on the basis of records or literature reports Lyon-Trigg county line on Ky. Hwy. 453 from Barren, Bell, McCreary, Powell, and (KU 137757); McCreary County: 6.4 mi Whitley counties, mostly in the southeastern (10.3 km) WNW Stearns on Ky. Hwy. 92 part of the state. With the exception of the (KU 143705-706), 0.7 mi (1.1 km) W Barren County specimen, these records are Cumberland Falls (KU 144580), no other restricted to or along the edge of the locality data (KU 144581); Trigg County: mountainous, heavily forested area of east-0.5 mi (0.8 km) NE jet. eastern shore ern Kentucky. Excepting the Barren County Kentucky Lake and U.S. Hwy. 68 in LBL record, this lizard has not been known from ( KU 144576-577 ) . The specimens from western Kentucky, but Barbour (1971) Edmonson, Hart, and McCreary counties speculated that it might be found as far supplement the records of Ernst and Bar-west in the state as Todd County. Snyder bour (1971), and those from Lyon and ( 1972 ) did not find Eumeces inexpectatus Trigg counties extend the range of Eumeces in the Land Between The Lakes (LBL) in inexpectatus ca. 130 miles (210 km) (air-Trigg and Lyon counties, southwestern line) west into southwestern Kentucky Kentucky, but indicated (p. 84) that there (Fig. 1). was a "moderate possibility" of its occur-Virtually nothing is known of the life rence in that area. history in Kentucky of Eumeces inexpecta-Recent field work in the LBL region and tus and its relationships with Eumeces reexamination of specimens of Eumeces in fasciatus, a more wide ranging and (evi-the herpetological collection of the Museum dently ) more abundant species with which of Natural History at the University of it is sympatric over large areas. Kansas ( KU ) have resulted in the discovery Only 3 female Kentucky Eumeces inex-of specimens of Eumeces inexpectatus from pectatus ( KU 137757, 143707, 144581 ) were new localities in western and southwestern available for examination. These specimens Kentucky. contained an average of 11 undeveloped During May 1973 one of us (EMR) and ova. This differs little from the ova counts Walter E. Boles spent 10 days collecting obtained from 4 female Eumeces fasciatus amphibians and reptiles in southwestern taken in sympatry with Eumeces inexpecta-and west-central Kentucky. Six examples tus in Kentucky, although our sample size of Eumeces inexpectatus were collected at is too small to be conclusive, the following Kentucky localities: Edmon-Analysis of stomach contents of 12 E. son County: W Horse cave near border inexpectatus and 13 E. fasciatus from their Mammoth Cave National Park (KU 154079); area of sympatry in Kentucky showed no Trigg County: ca. 7 mi (11 km) ESE appreciable difference in the diet of these Aurora in LBL (KU 154077-078 & KU species. Both species consumed large num-154080); ca. 10 mi (16 km) ESE Aurora bers of spiders compared to other inverte-in LBL (KU 154081-082). In addition, 9 brate diet items which included (in de-previously overlooked specimens of this Hz-scending order of item occurrence) crickets, ard were discovered from the following cockroaches, caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, Kentucky localities: Hart County: 6-7 mi beetle larvae, snails, and moths. (10-11 km) NW Cave City near border Although our data sample is small, these 79
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