Falla's skink

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.

Falla's skink
Type specimen from Auckland War Memorial Museum
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Scincidae
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[2]
Leiolopisma fallai McCann, 1955 Lygosomella fallai — Wells & Wellington, 1985 Oligosoma fallai — Patterson & Daugherty, 1995

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]