Plestiodon elegans (Boulenger, 1887)
It is a mid-to large-sized skink with a body length of 22-27 cm, fully covered with smooth scales.There are large irregularly-lined scales on the external side of hindlegs. The baby skink has a colorful blue tail and a black dorsum, on which five golden stripes spread to the tail base. The adult has a brown or brownish-gray dorsum, dark red stripes on the side and an ash-gray belly.
It is distributed over the southeast of China, Taiwan, Penghu Archipelago and Diaoyutai Islands, dwelling in the low- to mid-altitude mountains and near open plains including meadows, bushes, rubble and farmland. It could still be spotted in high mountains over 2000 meters.
The biggest difference between the skink and other lizard relatives is the body type. In contrast with the slenderness of lizards, the skink looks plump, covered with glossy scales. For the five-striped blue-tailed skink, the biggest feature is that the young has five golden lines on its black dorsum extending to the base of a royal-blue tail. When it reaches adulthood, its appearance would be changed into single brown color with red spots.