Length: SVL up to 133mm, with the tail being equal to or slightly longer than the body length

Weight: up to 35.5 grams

Description

A large and beautifully patterned species from the northern and western South Island. Newman's speckled skinks vary widely in size and appearance throughout their range with the largest individuals occurring on Takapourewa / Stephen's Island in the western Marlborough Sounds.

The snout is short and rounded at the tip. Dorsum (back) is various shades of brown often with lighter and darker flecking, a dark mid-dorsal stripe is occasionally present in some populations. Flanks with broad dark-brown lateral stripe which is heavily crenulated at the edges (although can be relatively smooth in some populations) and may be bordered above and below with light-brown / cream coloured dorso-lateral and mid-lateral stripes. Ventral (lower) surfaces may be bright yellow or salmon-coloured (depending on locality) and are often heavily flecked with black, but flecking may be absent in some populations. Tail is longer than body length (SVL). 

Life expectancy

Unknown.

Distribution

Occurs in the South Island from the western Marlborough Sounds (Takapourewa / Stephen's Island) through Nelson / Tasman, and down the West Coast to around Hokitika.

Ecology and habitat

Newman's speckled skinks are diurnal and strongly heliothermic. They are relatively wary compared to other species of skinks which occur sympatrically, and retreat quickly when approached. They are largely terrestrial but will climb onto low vegetation or debris to bask. When not active basking or foraging, they take refuge under rocks and logs, or in dense vegetation/leaf litter. On Takapourewa / Stephen's Island, they have been recorded taking refuge in seabird burrows and being preyed upon by Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus).

They occupy a wide range of habitats including pebble banks or dense vegetation in coastal areas, as well as grassland, rock piles, and open areas in forest and scrub.

Social structure

Solitary and territorial.

Breeding biology

Little is known of the breeding biology of wild speckled skinks. In captivity, mating occurs from late September to November, gestation is 12–14 weeks, and females give birth to litters of three to four juveniles from January to March.

Diet

Newman's speckled skinks are omnivorous, consuming a wide range of invertebrates such as insects and spiders. On Takapourewa / Stephen's Island they have also been reported consuming other lizards and cannibalising smaller speckled skinks.

Disease

A variety of ectoparasites including the acari mite Neotrombicula sphenodonti, and endoparasites including nematodes Capillaria sp., Hedruris minuta, Parathelandros sp. and Skrjabinodon trimorphi; the trematode Dolichosaccus leiolopismae (Allison & Blair, 1987); and the protozoan Haemogregarina sp. 

Conservation strategy

Newman's speckled skinks from Takapourewa / Stephen's Island have been translocated to Te Pākeka / Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds, and Mana Island off the Kapiti Coast.  Individuals have persisted and reproduced on Maud Island, although no individuals have been located on Mana Island in recent years and it is presumed they did not establish.

Interesting notes

Named in honour of Donald G. Newman - a prominent New Zealand herpetologist.

While usually under 90mm SVL on the mainland, an unusual population of giant speckled skinks occurs on Takapourewa / Stephen's Island in the Marlborough sounds where individuals reach up to 114mm SVL and close to 30cm in total length.

Newman's speckled skinks are members of the speckled skink cryptic species complex - a group of related taxa with similar morphology that were previously regarded as one highly variable species (Oligosoma infrapunctatum).

References

Allison, B., & Blair, D. (1987). The genus Dolichosaccus (Platyhelminthes: Digenea) from amphibians and reptiles in New Zealand, with a description of Dolichosaccus (Lecithopyge) leiolopismae n. sp. New Zealand journal of zoology, 14(3), 367-374.

Chapple, D. G., Ritchie, P. A., & Daugherty, C. H. (2009). Origin, diversification, and systematics of the New Zealand skink fauna (Reptilia: Scincidae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 52(2), 470-487.

Duncan, P. (2000). Behavioural and ecological factors affecting the trappability of two skink species in Nelson (Doctoral dissertation, University of Otago).

East, K. T., East, M. R., & Daugherty, C. H. (1995). Ecological restoration and habitat relationships of reptiles on Stephens Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 22(3), 249-261.

Efford, M. G., & Fewster, R. M. (2013). Estimating population size by spatially explicit capture–recapture. Oikos, 122(6), 918-928.

Greaves, S. N., Chapple, D. G., Daugherty, C. H., Gleeson, D. M., & Ritchie, P. A. (2008). Genetic divergences pre‐date Pleistocene glacial cycles in the New Zealand speckled skink, Oligosoma infrapunctatum. Journal of biogeography, 35(5), 853-864.

Hardy, G. S. (1977). The New Zealand Scincidae (Reptilia: Lacertilia); a taxonomic and zoogeographic study. New Zealand journal of zoology, 4(3), 221-325.

Hitchmough, R., Barr, B., Knox, C., Lettink, M., Monks, J. M., Patterson, G. B., Reardon, J. T., van Winkel, D., Rolfe, J., & Michel, P. (2021). Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2021. New Zealand threat classification series 35. Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conversation.

Hitchmough, R.A., Barr, B., Lettink, M., Monks, J., Reardon, J., Tocher, M., van Winkel, D., Rolfe, J. (2016). Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2015; New Zealand threat classification series 17. Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conservation.

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Melzer, S., Hitchmough, R. H., Bell, T., Chapple, D. G., Patterson, G. B. (2019). Lost and Found: Taxonomic revision of the speckled skink (Oligosoma infrapunctatum; Reptilia; Scincidae) species complex from New Zealand reveals a potential cryptic extinction, resurrection of two species, and description of three new species. Zootaxa, 4623 (3), 441–484.

Middleton, D. M., La Flamme, A. C., Gartrell, B. D., & Nelson, N. J. (2014). Reptile reservoirs and seasonal variation in the environmental presence of Salmonella in an island ecosystem, Stephens Island, New Zealand. Journal of wildlife diseases, 50(3), 655-659.

Mockett, S. (2017). A review of the parasitic mites of New Zealand skinks and geckos with new host records. New Zealand journal of zoology, 44(1), 39-48.

Mockett, S., Bell, T., Poulin, R., & Jorge, F. (2017). The diversity and evolution of nematodes (Pharyngodonidae) infecting New Zealand lizards. Parasitology, 144(5), 680-691.

O’Donnell, C. F., Weston, K. A., & Monks, J. M. (2017). Impacts of introduced mammalian predators on New Zealand’s alpine fauna. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 41(1), 1-22.

Patterson, G. B., & Daugherty, C. H. (1995). Reinstatement of the genus Oligosoma (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Scincidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 25(3), 327-331.

Robb, J. (1986). New Zealand Amphibians & Reptiles (Revised). Auckland: Collins, 128 pp.

Sharell, R. (1966) The tuatara, lizards and frogs of New Zealand. Collins, London, 94 pp. 

van Winkel, D., Baling, M. & Hitchmough, R. (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: A field guide. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 376 pp.