Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Pennsylvania is home to a diverse population of amphibians and reptiles, including 22 species of salamanders, 21 snakes, 18 frogs and toads, 13 turtles and four lizards.
This page lists 4 lizards: all from Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Pennsylvania Native Reptile and Amphibian Species, lizard section.
About 6.5 to 12.75 inches in total length. Oklahoma gives about 12 inches for large adults and SREL up to 13 inches. Males are larger than females.
How to recognize it
Large, wide head; breeding males have swollen orange-red jowls.
Smooth, glass-like scales, short legs and a stocky body.
Upper-lip scales separate it from five-lined skinks: Maryland, Tennessee and North Carolina count five labial scales between the nostril and the eye rather than four. Oklahoma and Missouri count differently, around 8 or 9 in the full lip row.
Conservation
PA status C = Candidate Species (PFBC)
What the sources say
Venom: “The lizards common to Pennsylvania are harmless.” (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission)
NCWRC: broadhead skinks reach a much larger size. ODWC: juveniles can be told apart by counting the upper lip scales (five-lined: seven, with two post-labials; broad-headed: nine, with no post-labials).
Photos show typical adults; individuals vary. Never get close to compare.
When lizards are active in Pennsylvania
Records of lizards in Pennsylvania peak in May and July to August. They show when people record lizards, not how many there are (about month bars).
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
66 records of lizards in Pennsylvania by month (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY records).
How to report
Feral swine: report to the Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD (or 1-833-PGC-HUNT). Spotted lanternfly: report online or call 1-888-4BADFLY (PA Dept. of Agriculture). Venomous snake removal: call a local PFBC Waterways Conservation Officer. Nuisance wildlife: PGC region office; USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services 866-487-3297. Pennsylvania Game Commission
“Pennsylvania is home to a diverse population of amphibians and reptiles, including 22 species of salamanders, 21 snakes, 18 frogs and toads, 13 turtles and four lizards.”
Lizards (species accounts). Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.Quoted passages (1)
“The lizards common to Pennsylvania are harmless.”
Feral Swine. Pennsylvania Game Commission. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.Quoted passages (1)
“Any observations of feral swine in the commonwealth should immediately be reported to the Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD or 1-833-PGC-HUNT.”
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