The ornate skink, ''Oligosoma ornatum'', is a rare 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 ...
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 ...
. This species was once widespread through much of the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
and on many offshore islands in the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...
.
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and predation by introduced species has now reduced their range to scattered localities throughout the North Island as far south as
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, as well as on the
Three Kings Islands
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...
,
Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...
, and a few other offshore islands.
Ornate skinks co-exist widely with
copper skink
The copper skink (''Oligosoma aeneum'') is a skink of the family Scincidae that is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand.
Taxonomy and systematics
The number of skink species endemic to New Zealand is not yet known, as advancing molecular ...
s, and at selected localities with
robust skink
The robust skink (''Oligosoma alani'', formerly ''Cyclodina alani'') is a large, rare species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Geographic range
''O. alani'' was once widespread throughout the North Isl ...
s,
Mokohinau skink
The Mokohinau skink (''Oligosoma townsi''), also known commonly as Towns' skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Etymology
The specific name, ''townsi'', is in honor of Kiwi herpetologist ...
Little Barrier Island
Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori language (the official Māori title is ''Te Hauturu-o-Toi''), lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. Located to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the mainla ...
s,
marbled skink
The marbled skink (''Oligosoma oliveri'') is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Etymology
The specific name, ''oliveri'', is in honor of New Zealand ornithologist Walter Oliver.Beolens, Bo; Watkin ...
s. Ornate skinks are not currently known to co-exist with Whitaker's skinks.
Ornate skinks can be identified by the white or yellowish "teardrop" edged with black, below each eye.
Conservation status
In 2012 the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
classified the ornate skink as ''At Risk'' 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 ...
. It was judged as meeting the criteria for ''At Risk'' threat status as a result of it having a low to high ongoing or predicted decline. This skink is also regarded as being ''Conservation Dependant''.