''Oligosoma suteri'', known commonly as Suter's skink, the black shore skink, the egg-laying skink, and Suter's ground skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.

Oviparity

''Oligosoma suteri'' is the only native New Zealand skink to lay eggs – hence another of its common names, the "egg-laying skink". (The egg-laying rainbow skink, ''Lampropholis delicata'', is present in some parts of New Zealand, but is introduced from Australia). Females dig nests and lay eggs under sand, pebbles or boulders from late December to mid February. Eggs hatch sooner if incubated at warmer temperatures, taking 75–80 days when incubated at 22 °C, and approximately 55 days at a constant 26 °C.

Geographic range

''Oligosoma suteri'' lives on northern offshore islands, from the Three Kings Islands to the

Alderman Islands The Aldermen Islands are a small group of rocky islets to the southeast of Mercury Bay in the North Island of New Zealand. They are located off the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, east of the mouth of the Tairua River. The islands were named ...

, at latitudes north of 37°S.

Biology

''Oligosoma suteri'' inhabits the coast, often very close to the water, eating mainly intertidal amphipods that in turn subsist on dead seaweed. It is known to hunt for prey in rock pools and is a capable swimmer.Towns DR (1975). "Ecology of the black shore skink, ''Leiolopisma suteri'' (Lacertilia: Scincidae), in boulder beach habitats". ''New Zealand Journal of Zoology'' 2(4): 389–407. Suter's skink reaches densities (up to 13/m²) that are among the highest lizard densities recorded anywhere in the world.

Etymology

Both 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 ...

, ''suteri'', and two of the common names, "Suter's skink" and "Suter's ground skink", honour Henry Suter (1841–1918), New Zealand zoologist and palaeontologist.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Suter", p. 258).

References

* Boulenger GA (1906). "Descriptions of Two New Lizards from New Zealand". ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Seventh Series'' 17: 369-371 + Plate X. (''Lygosoma suteri'', new species, pp. 369–370 + Plate X, figure 1). *Hare, Kelly M.; Daugherty, Charles H.; Chapple, David G. (2008) "Comparative phylogeography of three skink species (''Oligosoma moco, O. smithi, O. suteri'' ; Reptilia: Scincidae) in northeastern New Zealand". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 46 (1): 303-315. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3011318 suteri Reptiles of New Zealand Reptiles described in 1906 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger

Oviparity

Geographic range

Biology

Etymology

References

Further reading