American five-lined skink...

Plestiodon fasciatura, sometimes known as blue-tailed skink - but that's just the juvenile. The adults don't have blue tails. They are so skittish and very hard to get close to without them running away - very fast!

Phone shot and rendered in Pixel Bender to make the details stand out. More info including that blue tail here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plestiodon_fasciatus

[JudyG]

Great capture. And what a tail!

[Renee Salamon]

Great capture - I’ve never seen one before

[Mags]

@365jgh Thank you very much, Judy.

@rensala Thank you, Renee.

[Susan Wakely]

Loving the blue tail.

[Bucktree]

Never seen one with a blue tail. They are super fast, nice capture.

[Mags]

@wakelys Thanks, Susan.

@dkellogg Thank you, David. They are so fast. The minute I tried to get closer, it was gone!

[moni kozi]

The colour in the tail... so fascinating

[Larry Steager]

Very cool photo.

[Mags]

@monikozi Thank you, Monica.

@larrysphotos Thanks, Larry.

[Corinne C]

Wow that's an amazing shot and an amazing little creature

[Phil Howcroft]

this is beautiful Mags

[Mags]

@corinnec Thank you very much, Corinne.

@phil_howcroft Thank you, Phil.

[Shutterbug]

Beautiful capture of that tail. Seems odd for a juvenile to be so brightly colored and visible.

[Mags]

@shutterbug49 Thank you very much. The info link above talks more about their blue tails.

[Kathy A]

How interesting that tail is

[Diana]

Wonderful find and shot, love the stipes and textures.

[haskar]

Nice find and shot. Lovely processing.

[Mags]

@kjarn It really is pretty interesting.

@ludwigsdiana Thanks, Diana.

@haskar Thank you, Haskar.

[Lee]

How interesting

[Mags]

@gamelee Thanks, Lee.

[Bill Ososki]

Nice capure

[Mags]

@ososki Thanks, Bill.

[Pam]

I love its colors!

[Mags]

@pamalama It is an amazing creature. =)