Kiawah Island ’ s Fastest Reptile
By Whit Gibbons and Tony Mills
Unless otherwise noted , all photos this story by J . D . Willson
Amother alligator sprinting a short distance overland from the nest she is guarding and a coachwhip gliding over pine needles through palmettos — both move rapidly compared to most reptiles . But for its size , the fastest reptile we have ever encountered on Kiawah Island is a lizard known as the six-lined racerunner . One thing is certain : Neither of us has ever outrun a racerunner on the sand dunes .
Six-lined racerunners are one of the half-dozen species of lizards we documented to inhabit Kiawah Island during reptile and amphibian surveys conducted in the mid-1970s , before the Island was developed . Because of their rapid speed overland , most of our research records of racerunners were sightings only . Occasionally , we captured these speedy lizards with the use of two collecting techniques . On a few cool days in the spring we found racerunners hiding under palm fronds or other natural cover . Even then it required a quick grab to catch one before it blasted away into the vegetation . We also captured individuals that fell into pitfall traps placed alongside drift fences strategically placed for sampling near the dunes
Above : green anole . Below : broadheaded skink .
38 Naturally Kiawah