Kakerakau Skink

Fascinating facts about the Kakerakau Skink

• A lone individual spotted in 2003 at Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park was the first glimpse of a skink that would wait 18 years for a formal description, finally named Oligosoma kakerakau in 2021.
• At just 70 mm (2.8 in) from snout to vent, this tiny lizard carries a teardrop-shaped mark below its eye that instantly sets it apart from its Oligosoma cousins.
• Its two known strongholds – coastal broad-leaved forest and rock outcrops at Bream Head, and podocarp-tawa-tawhai forests at Whirinaki – show the species can thrive in both seaside scrub and inland forest niches.

At a glance

About the Kakerakau Skink

The Kakerakau skink, Oligosoma kakerakau, has a snout–vent length of 70 mm (2.8 in) and a distinctive teardrop-shaped marking below each eye with a mid-lateral stripe. It is closely related to O. zelandicum, and the two species are thought to have diverged during Pliocene sea-level changes. The skink is found in coastal broad-leaved forest, scrub and on rock outcrops at Bream Head Scenic Reserve, and in podocarp, tawa and tawhai forests at Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park. It is diurnal and feeds on small invertebrates. The species was first observed in 2003 and formally described in 2021.

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