Hardy's skink (''Oligosoma hardyi'') is a species of

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

, a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Poor Knights Islands of New Zealand.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''hardyi'', is in honor of Kiwi herpetologist Graham S. Hardy.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Cyclodina hardyi'', p. 116).

Geographic range

In the Poor Knights Islands, ''O. hardyi'' occurs on Tawhiti Rahi Island, Aorangi Island, Aorangaia Island, Archway Island, and two rock stacks (Stack “B,” Stack “C”).

Taxonomy

''O. hardyi'' closely resembles the copper skink, '' Cyclodina aenea'', 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 (Chapple et al. 2008). More recently, the genus ''

Cyclodina ''Oligosoma'' is a genus of small to medium-sized skinks ( family Scincidae) 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 subfa ...

'' was merged with the genus '' Oligosoma'' (Chapple et al. 2009), resulting in a new combination for this species, ''Oligosoma hardyi''.

Habitat and behaviour

''O. hardyi'' is most commonly found in areas where there is ground cover near

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

and scrub habitat. It is crepuscular, seeking refuge during the day under stones or thick vegetation.

Description

''O. hardyi'' can be distinguished from all other ''Oligosoma'' species, including the other members of the ''O. aeneum'' species complex, by having suboculars three and four separated by the fifth supralabial under the eye. In addition, the midbody scale count is greater than that of the

slight skink The slight skink (''Oligosoma levidensum'') 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 regio ...

(''

Oligosoma levidensum The slight skink (''Oligosoma levidensum'') 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 regio ...

'') from the Te Paki region.

Etymology

Geographic range

Taxonomy

Habitat and behaviour

Description

References

Further reading