Herpetologists are excited at sightings of the rare Canterbury spotted skink in a place the lizards haven’t been seen in more than 50 years.
In the most recent threat ranking, an expert panel classified the Canterbury spotted skink as Nationally Endangered. There are thought to be fewer than 1000 left and a previous stronghold population has collapsed in Kaitorete Spit, near Christchurch.
Now, a possible new population has been discovered, thanks to a photo taken by a fly-fisher between the Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park and Castle Hill/Kura Tāwhiti, about an hour away from Christchurch.
Herpetologists identified a Canterbury spotted skink from the photo and when researchers recently visited the area, they spotted three more.
Department of Conservation Senior Technical Advisor and lizard expert Lynn Adams says the discovery is incredibly exciting.
“We thought they were long gone from this area. The fact they have been seen up there, means there may be more,” Lynn says.
“This species has been really battling over the past few years and is very vulnerable to mice, hedgehogs, weasels, rats, stoats, and cats. The recent loss of what was once considered a stronghold population at Kaitorete Spit highlights how vulnerable the Canterbury spotted skink remains.”
Christchurch based Ecologist and Herpetologist Dr Marieke Lettink says this first verified sighting of the species in the Torlesse Tussocklands area opens a whole swathe of country where they could be, but no one has looked.
“They are very distinctive, large with a beautiful green sparkle. If people are out naturing, fly fishing, walking on Banks Peninsula, the central Canterbury foothills or in the Waimakariri Basin and you see something like this, take a photo and record where you are and send it into us,” she says.
Marieke says fly-fishers are very good at spotting various species as they’re observant about their surroundings and standing still for periods of time.
Fly-fishing guide Martin Langlands who took the original photo of the spotted skink says he’d never seen anything like it before and immediately tried to get a picture.
“It was large and had gorgeous greenish spots and really shone in the sun. I thought it might be something special,” he says.
Lynn says every sighting helps DOC’s research into the species.
“We can’t be everywhere, but people can really help us when they’re out naturing. We don’t want to lose this large, rare and usually very secretive skink. It’s vital we know where the populations may be.
“Lizards are the most amazing creatures. We have 147 species found nowhere else in the world. Everyone knows a lot of our bird species, but lizards are the underdogs.
“There are three simple things you can do, help us look out for them and if you see one take a photo, make your garden lizard friendly and finally, enjoy the awesomeness of our native lizards. That would make us lizard lovers very happy,” she says.
You can email any sightings or photos to www.lizardresearch.govt.nz
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