Suter's skink

Suter's skink

Black shore skink, Egg-laying skink, Suter's ground skink

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Oligosoma suteri

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.

Animal name origin

Both the specific name, 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.

Distribution

Geography

Countries
Biogeographical realms

Oligosoma suteri lives on northern offshore islands, from the Three Kings Islands to the Alderman Islands, at latitudes north of 37°S.

Suter's skink habitat map
Suter's skink habitat map

Habits and Lifestyle

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. Suter's skink reaches densities (up to 13/m2) that are among the highest lizard densities recorded anywhere in the world.

Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior

References

1. Suter's skink Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suter's_skink
2. Suter's skink on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/178624/120192368

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