The five-lined skink is named for the five stripes on its back that run from head to tail. It is also called blue-tailed skink because of the brilliant coloration of the juveniles.

While the copper striped blue-tailed skink has now been extirpated from Hawaii, Fisher said he hopes the USGS determination will incite more accurate documentation and studies worldwide.

The blue-tailed skink is only a few centimetres long and as you can see, has a bright blue streak down its back to its tail.

Although they are sometimes referred to as blue-tailed skinks, that name is inaccurate for the local species, since another smaller lizard native to Christmas Island is the blue-tailed skink.

The skinks have distinctive, blue-colored tails as juveniles. The color fades away as the skink matures into adulthood.

The bright blue tail is characteristic of young skinks. The color usually fades when they reach adulthood, but some skinks keep their color. The brighter the blue, however, the younger the skink.