Burgan skink

Burgan skink

Nationally Endangered (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Oligosoma
Species: O. burganae
Binomial name
Oligosoma burganae
Chapple, Bell, Chapple, Miller, Patterson & Daugherty, 2011
Synonyms
  • Leiolopisma inconspicuum Patterson & Daugherty 1990
  • Leiolopisma nigriplantare maccanni Patterson 1984

The Burgan skink, Oligosoma burganae, is a nationally endangered species of skink native to New Zealand.[1] It was described from a specimen found near the Burgan Stream, in the Rock and Pillar Range, Central Otago.[2]

Appearance

The Burgan skink has a glossy brown colour with a yellow grey abdomen. It has minimal or no scales on the interior edge of its ear opening and usually only three supraocular scales on the crown above the eye. It has a head that is blunter than similar Oligosoma species.[3]

Habitat

The Burgan skinks preferred habitat are herbs and shrubs above 900 m in the mountainous regions of the Rock and Pillar Ranges as well as in the Lammermoor ranges of Central Otago.[4]

Conservation status

As of 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the Burgan skink as Nationally Endangered under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[1] A 2012 survey in the Lammermoor and Rock and Pillar Ranges did not reveal any sightings of Burgan skinks.[4] They have since been found in low numbers in a few sites in this area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hitchmough, Rod; Anderson, Peter; Barr, Ben; Monks, Jo; Lettink, Marieke; Reardon, James; Tocher, Mandy; Whitaker, Tony. "Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2012" (PDF). Department of Conservation. The Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Chapple, David G.; Bell, Trent P.; Chapple, Stephanie N.J.; Miller, Kimberly A.; Daugherty, Charles H.; Patterson, Geoff B. (2011). "Phylogeography and taxonomic revision of the New Zealand cryptic skink (Oligosoma inconspicuum; Reptilia: Scincidae) species complex" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2782: 1–33. ISSN 1175-5334. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Oligosoma burganae CHAPPLE, BELL, CHAPPLE, MILLER, DAUGHERTY & PATTERSON, 2011". The Reptile Database. The Reptile Database. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Oligosoma burganae". Atlas of the amphibians and reptiles of New Zealand. The Department of Conservation. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
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