| Whitaker's skink | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Genus: | Oligosoma |
| Species: | O. whitakeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Oligosoma whitakeri (Hardy, 1977) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
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Whitaker's skink (Oligosoma whitakeri), [3] also known commonly as Whitaker's New Zealand skink, [1] [2] is an endangered [1] species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found only in New Zealand.
The specific epithet, whitakeri, is in honour of Anthony Whitaker, a New Zealand herpetologist who studied New Zealand lizards for more than 30 years. [4] [5]
Whitaker's skink lives in coastal forest and scrub. During the day it retreats to warm, moist places such as seabird burrows and deep boulder banks, and emerges on warm humid nights to forage.
O. whitakeri is found on two small, predator-free islands off the Coromandel Peninsula – Middle Island in the Mercury Islands group, and Castle Island. There is also a mainland population in a small rocky area at the base of coastal hills at Pukerua Bay, near Wellington. Fossil bones found in the Waikato region suggest that these skinks were once more widely distributed. [6] The New Zealand Department of Conservation and the Friends of Mana Island are running a five-year project to catch and breed enough animals from the vulnerable Pukerua Bay colony to establish a sustainable population on nearby predator-free Mana Island.
As of August 2021 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified Whitaker's skink as Nationally Endangered under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. [7]
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.
The Otago skink is a rare, endangered species of large skink in the family Scincidae, found in the rocky canyons and grassy patches of Central Otago, New Zealand.
The copper skink is a skink of the family Scincidae that is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand.
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.
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 small-scaled skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The first specimen was captured in 1971 on Motutaiko Island, Lake Taupō but it is now known to be endemic to the central North Island of New Zealand in small population pockets. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
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 slight skink is a skink of the family Scincidae, endemic to the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. The precise distribution is unknown; currently it is only known from localities in the Te Paki region of Northland. It closely resembles the copper skink, Oligosoma aeneum, and was considered to be a member of this species until recently when it was described as a new species using morphological, allozyme and DNA methods. O. levidensum is difficult to distinguish morphologically from O. aeneum, which is probably why it had not been recognised until recently. The main distinguishing feature is the slighter overall body form of O. levidensum compared to O. aeneum. The limbs of O. levidensum are reduced compared to O. aeneum and O. hardyi, the other members of the O. aeneum complex.
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 Aorangi skink is a species of lizards in the skink family. The species is native 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 cryptic skink is a nationally vulnerable species of skink native to New Zealand.
The spotted skink is a nationally at risk species of skink native to New Zealand. The Spotted skink is currently known to be present in the Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington regions as well as in Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury. It is also present on Somes Island, Mākaro / Ward Island, North Brother Island and Stephens Island. Adult males and adult females of the species significantly differ in the snout-vent length with body sizes reaching 111mm. Females produce around 3 - 4 young.
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.
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