Endangered
Chevron skink
Oligosoma homalonotum
The chevron skink is a large species of skink that is endemic to New Zealand.
Appearance
The distance between the end of the snout and the fore limb is contained once and two thirds in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout rather elongate, obtusely pointed. Ear-opening oval, a little larger than the transparent palpebral disk. 30 scales round the body, dorsals, especially the two median rows, largest and faintly striated.
The chevron skink is the longest species of skink in New Zealand, reaching lengths of up to 340 mm (13 in).
Range and habitat
The species is endemic to Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier Island in the Auckland Region. Chevron skinks were once found on the northern North Island: subfossil remains of large skinks have been recovered from Tokerau Beach and Waipu, and large lizards were reported from the Hokianga in the early 20th century. The species' historic range included mainland Northland Region and northern Auckland Region.
Previously found across Northland and the northern Auckland Region, it is now found only on the Great Barrier and Little Barrier islands in the Hauraki Gulf. The largest population is on Great Barrier Island, in at least 20 catchments, where they coexist with pigs, feral cats, mice, and two species of rats.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet
It is able to retreat underwater and hold its breath to avoid predators, and will climb vegetation and hide to escape flash floods. Chevron skinks eat invertebrates such as spiders, insect larvae, and small snails.
In crisis
It is under threat from introduced rats. In 2012, DOC classified the chevron skink as Nationally Vulnerable under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. Conservation efforts have focused on education, pig control, and intensive predator control in certain areas.
Chevron skink is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Chevron skink, Wikidata item Q2707569. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
