The small lizard with the electric-blue tail racing through mulch or leaf litter may be native Florida wildlife, not an exotic species.

Southeastern five-lined skinks are sleek, shiny lizards found across much of Florida, including the Sarasota area.

Young skinks are usually dark with five pale stripes running down the body and a brilliant blue tail.

That blue tail fades as the animal matures.

Adults become browner, and mature males can develop a reddish or copper-colored head during the breeding season.

They may grow to roughly eight inches long, with much of that length in the tail.

Skinks spend much of their time close to the ground, slipping under logs, leaves, landscape timbers, rocks and other cover while hunting insects and spiders.

The identification challenge is that Florida has several native skinks with very similar stripes and blue-tailed juveniles.

Common five-lined skinks and broad-headed skinks can resemble southeastern five-lined skinks closely enough that experts sometimes use tiny differences in scale arrangement for a confident species identification.

That means a casual phone photo may support “native five-lined-type skink” more confidently than an exact species name.

For a homeowner, the bigger message is easier: these shiny striped skinks are beneficial native predators.

They consume insects and other small invertebrates and need no removal simply because the color looks unusual.

Like many lizards, skinks can drop part of the tail when grabbed or attacked.

Do not catch one by the blue tail just to get a better look.

Leaving leaf litter, logs and some natural ground cover in appropriate parts of a yard can provide shelter for skinks and other small native wildlife.

If you want a photograph, stop moving and give the animal time to emerge rather than chasing it through landscaping.

The Wild Suncoast clue: a dark juvenile with five pale lines and an electric-blue tail is very likely a native Florida skink, even when the exact skink species takes a closer look.