Falla's skink

Falla's skink
	Type specimen from Auckland War Memorial Museum
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scinciformata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Eugongylidae
Genus:	Oligosoma
Species:	O. fallai
Binomial name
	Oligosoma fallai; (McCann, 1955)
	Distribution of Falla's skink on a map of the North Island Known native range
Synonyms
	Leiolopisma fallai; McCann, 1955; Lygosomella fallai; — Wells & Wellington, 1985; Oligosoma fallai; — Patterson & Daugherty, 1995;

Last updated September 29, 2025

Falla's skink (Oligosoma fallai), also known commonly as the Three Kings skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to New Zealand.

Etymology

The specific name, fallai, is in honor of New Zealander ornithologist Robert Falla.^[3]

Geographic range

O. fallai is endemic to the Three Kings Islands off the coast of New Zealand. It is found nowhere else in the world.^[1]^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of Falla's skink are forest and shrubland.^[1]

Diet

O. fallai is omnivorous. It preys upon small invertebrates, and also eats carrion and fruits, including the fruit of the tītoki tree ( Alectryon excelsus ), the seeds of which it helps to disperse.^[1]

Reproduction

O. fallai is ovoviviparous.^[2] Young are born in January and February, and mean litter size is 4.5.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 Hitchmough, R.; Chapple, D.G. (2021). "Oligosoma fallai ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T15263A120191092. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T15263A120191092.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
1 2 3 Species Oligosoma fallai at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Oligosoma fallai, p. 88).

McCann C (1955). "The lizards of New Zealand. Gekkonidae and Scincidae". Dominion Museum Bulletin (17): 1–127. (Leiolopisma fallai, new species, pp. 76–77).
Patterson GB, Daugherty CH (1995). "Reinstatement of the genus Oligosoma (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Scincidae)". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand25 (3): 327–331. (Oligosoma fallai, new combination).
van Winkel D, Baling M, Hitchmough R (2020). Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: A Field Guide. Princeton Field Guides. London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, Sydney: Bloomsbury Wildlife. 368 pp. ISBN 978-0691199504.

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[iucn_status_16_November_2021-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Hitchmough, R.; Chapple, D.G. (2021). "Oligosoma fallai ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T15263A120191092. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T15263A120191092.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 3 Species Oligosoma fallai at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Oligosoma fallai, p. 88).

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