The marbled skink (''Oligosoma oliveri'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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 ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Scincidae. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
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 ...
, ''oliveri'', is in honor of New Zealand
ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
Walter Oliver
Walter Reginald Brook Oliver (7 September 1883 – 16 May 1957) was a New Zealand naturalist, ornithologist, malacologist, and museum curator.
Biography
Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Oliver emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1896, set ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("''Cyclodina oliveri'' ", p. 194).]
Reproduction
''O. oliveri'' is
viviparous
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Chapple DG, Ritchie PA, Daugherty CH (2009). "Origin, diversification, and systematics of the New Zealand skink fauna (Reptilia: Scincidae)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 52 (2): 470–487.
* McCann C (1955). "The Lizards of New Zealand. Gekkonidae and Scincidae". ''Dominion Museum Bulletin'' (17): 1–127. (''Leiolopisma oliveri'', new species, pp. 76–77, 79, 94 + Plate XIII, figures 1–5).
* van Winkel D, Baling M, Hitchmough R (2019). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: A Field Guide''. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. viii + 366 pp. (''Oligosoma oliveri'', pp. 157, 286–287, 297–298).
Endemic reptiles of New Zealand
Oligosoma
Reptiles described in 1955
Taxa named by Charles McCann
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Lygosominae-stub