Canterbury spotted skinks reclassified as nationally critical

If you see a Canterbury spotted skink, report it to a DOC office. Source: James Reardon.

The Canterbury spotted skink has been reclassified by an expert panel; there are now fewer than 1,000 mature individuals left. The Department of Conservation (DOC) say the skinks are in their last stage before extinction.

Canterbury spotted skinks are found in small populations on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū Banks Peninsula, in Port Hills, on Kaitorete Spit, and a few other locations in the foothills between Heratini Geraldine and Piwakawaka Methven. Canterbury spotted skinks “are important pollinators and seed dispersers,” said DOC Technical Advisor Lynn Adams.

“They can actually reach high abundance, and are top predators in the food chain, when their habitat is secure and mammalian predators are absent.”

Adams shared that these specific individuals are reportedly larger and shyer than other more widespread skink species that are found in similar areas, and can grow up to 24 centimetres.

“Our indigenous reptiles are taonga and found nowhere else on earth,” Adams said. “However, 94% are at risk or threatened with extinction.”

Previously labelled as nationally vulnerable, it was thought there were “secure populations” of the skinks in “the Ō Tū Wharekai Ashburton Lakes basin and surrounding ranges, but recent DNA sequencing has proven these populations were misidentified and are in fact another type of related lizard,” according to a DOC press release.

In light of the reclassification, Adams said DOC is working to achieve long-term persistence of Canterbury spotted skinks. 

“We aim to protect three populations that represent both the geographical and genetic range of the species.

“One of our first jobs is to do surveys to better understand their distribution. Historically, Canterbury spotted skinks would have been found across much of the Canterbury Plains,” Adams said.

“Any records of larger than normal skinks is helpful, particularly if they are seen in shrubland or rocky areas in the south and mid-Canterbury foothills.”

Adams said DOC is supporting Environment Canterbury (ECan), as well as private landowners, in order to protect small lowland populations and is also reviewing the skinks’ conservation needs.

The skink’s core predators are mice, hedgehogs, weasels, rats, stoats and cats and they can appear camouflaged, according to DOC.

Adams asks that any Canterbury spotted skink sightings are reported to local DOC offices, or to lizardresearch@doc.govt.nz.