Whitaker's skink

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.

Whitaker's skink
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scinciformata
Infraorder:	Scincomorpha
Family:	Eugongylidae
Genus:	Oligosoma
Species:	O. whitakeri
Binomial name
Oligosoma whitakeri (Hardy, 1977)
Distribution of Whitaker's skink on a map of the North Island   Known native range
Synonyms[2]
Cyclodina whitakeri Hardy, 1977 Oligosoma whitakeri — Chapple et al., 2009

Etymology

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]

Habitat and behaviour

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.

Geographic range

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.

Conservation status

As of August 2021 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified Whitaker's skink as Nationally Endangered under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.^[7]