Kingdom Animalia Family Scincidae Scientific name Cyclodina whitakeri Rank Species | Class Reptilia Genus Oligosoma Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | |
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Similar Oligosoma, Robust skink, Copper skink, Ornate skink, Naultinus elegans punctatus | ||
The Whitaker's skink, Oligosoma whitakeri (formerly Cyclodina whitakeri), is a threatened species of skink in the Scincidae family. It is found only in New Zealand. The specific epithet is in honour of Anthony Whitaker, a New Zealand herpetologist who studied New Zealand lizards for more than 30 years.
Whitaker's skink lives in coastal forest and scrub. During the day the skinks retreat to warm, moist places such as seabird burrows and deep boulder banks, and emerge on warm humid nights to forage. The species 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. 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 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the Whitaker's skink as Nationally Endangered under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.