Egg-laying Skink

Fascinating facts about the Egg-laying Skink

• A single adult can stretch up to 126 mm from snout to vent – about the length of a standard AA battery – yet it fits comfortably into the tight cracks of rocky shorelines.
• In some New Zealand tide pools this skink reaches densities of 13 individuals per square metre, rivaling the highest lizard crowding ever recorded worldwide.
• When a female digs a nest under sand or boulders in late December, her eggs incubate for 75–80 days at 22 °C, but the same clutch hatches in just 55 days if the nest stays at a steady 26 °C.
• Despite its ground-dwelling reputation, this lizard can dive into rock pools and swim, chasing intertidal amphipods that feed on dead seaweed right at the water’s edge.

At a glance

About the Egg-laying Skink

The egg-laying skink, Oligosoma suteri, is a sleek, mid-sized lizard that can grow to a snout-vent length of 126 mm (5.0 in). Its glossy scales catch the light on the rocky shorelines where it prowls, and a long snout and pronounced brow give it a striking profile. Colouration is a canvas of brown or grey, splashed with irregular blotches of black, gold or brown that vary wildly from one individual to the next, making each sighting a fresh discovery. Juveniles can be confused with the similar O. smithi, but the skink’s shinier scales and prominent brows set it apart. Living in the splash zone of rocky beaches, it stays within arm’s reach of the surf, hunting intertidal amphipods that feast on decaying seaweed. It darts into rock pools and even swims when the tide beckons, achieving some of the highest lizard densities recorded worldwide, up to 13 individuals per square metre. A singular trait sets it apart from all other native New Zealand skinks: it lays eggs. Females excavate nests beneath sand, pebbles or boulders from late December to mid-February, and the incubation period shortens dramatically with warmer temperatures, ranging from 75–80 days at 22 °C to about 55 days at 26 °C, a rapid pace for a reptile in such a cool-climate region.

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