The Burgan skink (''Oligosoma burganae'') is a nationally endangered 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 ...

native 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 ...

. It was described from a specimen found near the Burgan Stream, in the

Rock and Pillar Range The Rock and Pillar Range of high hills is located in the Maniototo, an area of inland Otago, New Zealand. They are surrounded by the Taieri River, which has its source in the range, flowing out across the scroll plain at Paerau, before almost do ...

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

Appearance

The Burgan skink has a glossy brown colour with a yellow grey abdomen. It has minimal or no scales on the interior edge of its ear opening and usually only three

supraocular scales In scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the eye.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ...

on the crown above the eye. It has a head that is blunter than similar ''

Oligosoma ''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 subfamily ...

'' species.

Habitat

The Burgan skinks preferred habitat are herbs and shrubs above 900 m in the mountainous regions of the Rock and Pillar Ranges as well as in the Lammermoor ranges of Central Otago.

Conservation status

As of 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the Burgan skink as Nationally Endangered under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

. A 2012 survey in the Lammermoor and Rock and Pillar Ranges did not reveal any sightings of Burgan skinks. They have since been found in low numbers in a few sites in this area.

References

External links

Holotype specimen of Oligosoma burganae held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Image of a Burgan skink
Oligosoma Endangered biota of New Zealand Reptiles of New Zealand Reptiles described in 2011 Taxa named by David G. Chapple Taxa named by Trent Bell Taxa named by Stephanie N.J. Chapple Taxa named by Kimberly A. Miller Taxa named by Charles H. Daugherty Taxa named by Geoff B. Patterson {{Lygosominae-stub