| Falla's skink | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type specimen from Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Oligosoma |
| Species: | O. fallai |
| Binomial name | |
| Oligosoma fallai (McCann, 1955) | |
 | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
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.
The specific name, fallai, is in honor of New Zealander ornithologist Robert Falla. [3]
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]
The preferred natural habitats of Falla’s skink are forest and shrubland. [1]
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]
O. fallai is ovoviviparous. [2] Young are born in January and February, and mean litter size is 4.5. [1]
Oligosoma is a genus of small to medium-sized skinks found only in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. Oligosoma had previously been found to belong to the Eugongylus group of genera in the subfamily Lygosominae; the Australian genus Bassiana appears to be fairly closely related.
Oligosoma alani,, also known as the robust skink is the largest endemic skink to New Zealand. The robust skink is in the family Scincidae and found in the protected nature reserves of the Mercury Islands in the North Island of New Zealand. The robust skink has an at risk - recovering conservation status.
McGregor's skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
The marbled skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Whitaker's skink, also known commonly as Whitaker's New Zealand skink, is an endangered species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found only in New Zealand.
The chevron skink, is a large species of skink endemic to New Zealand, found only on Great and Little Barrier islands in the Hauraki Gulf. A cryptic forest dweller, it can hide underwater, and is under threat from introduced rats.
Oligosoma infrapunctatum, the speckled skink, is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
The southern skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Oligosoma smithi, commonly known as the shore skink, short-tailed skink, Smith's ground skink, Smith's moco, and Smith's skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae (skinks) that is native to New Zealand.
Oligosoma suteri, known commonly as Suter's skink, the black shore skink, the egg-laying skink, and Suter's ground skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Oligosoma taumakae, the Open Bay Island(s) skink, or Taumaka skink, is a species of skink. It was described from the Open Bay Islands, off the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Hardy's skink is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Poor Knights Islands of New Zealand.
The Barrier skink is a species of medium-sized skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand, where it lives in the alpine habitat of the Darran and Takitimu Mountains of Fiordland. It is one of only two species of New Zealand skinks that live exclusively in the alpine zone, the other being the "Sinbad skink", Oligosoma pikitanga, a closely related species of similar appearance which is found in the same part of the South Island. The Barrier skink was first collected in the 1960s but was overlooked until rediscovery by a pair of mountain climbers in 2005; the species was scientifically described in 2009.
The Mokohinau skink, also known commonly as Towns' skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
The Te Kakahu skink is a critically endangered species of skink native to New Zealand. When discovered, the entire species was inhabiting a single patch of clifftop vegetation on Chalky Island in Fiordland National Park.
The Burgan skink is a nationally endangered species of skink native to New Zealand. It was described from a specimen found near the Burgan Stream, in the Rock and Pillar Range, Central Otago.
The brown skink is a species of skink native to New Zealand.
The Hokitika skink is a poorly-known and critically-endangered species of lizard in the family Scincidae (skinks) found only in the Hokitika area on the West Coast of New Zealand.
The Chesterfield or Kapitia skink is a species of skink found in New Zealand. Only discovered in 1994 and for years not recognised as a distinct species, it is endemic to a narrow 1 km strip of coastal vegetation on the West Coast of New Zealand, 15 km north of Hokitika. There are fewer than 200 individuals remaining in the wild. Oligosoma salmo is the only New Zealand skink with a prehensile tail, suggesting it was once arboreal and inhabited coastal forest, which was subsequently cleared for dairy farming. Following the partial destruction of its remaining habitat in 2018 by a cyclone, a small captive breeding population was established at Auckland Zoo.
The Westport skink is an undescribed species of lizard in the family Scincidae (skinks) known from just a single museum specimen, collected near Westport on the West Coast of New Zealand.
