Oligosoma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oligosoma |
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| Otago skink, Oligosoma otagense | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Subfamily: | Eugongylinae |
| Genus: | Oligosoma Girard, 1857 |
| Species | |
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Over 30, see text. |
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Oligosoma is a genus of small to medium-sized skinks. Skinks are a type of lizard that look a bit like snakes with tiny legs! You can only find Oligosoma skinks in New Zealand, as well as on Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. These islands are located in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have found that Oligosoma skinks are related to a group of lizards called Eugongylus and are quite similar to the Australian skink genus Bassiana.
Meet the Oligosoma Skink Species
There are many different kinds of Oligosoma skinks. Scientists have officially described over 30 species! Each one has its own unique features and habitats. Here are some of the known species:
- Oligosoma acrinasum (Hardy, 1977) – Fiordland skink
- Oligosoma aeneum (Girard, 1858) – copper skink
- Oligosoma alani (Robb, 1970) – Alan's skink, robust skink
- Oligosoma albornense Melzer, Hitchmough, Bell, Chapple, & Patterson, 2019 – Alborn skink
- Oligosoma auroraense Melzer, Hitchmough, Bell, Chapple, & Patterson, 2019 – Hawke's Bay skink, eastern speckled skink
- Oligosoma awakopaka Jewell, 2017 – Awakopaka skink
- Oligosoma burganae Chapple et al., 2011 – Burgan skink
- Oligosoma chloronoton (Hardy, 1977) – green skink
- Oligosoma elium Melzer, Bell & Patterson, 2017 – Marlborough spotted skink
- Oligosoma fallai (McCann, 1955) – Falla's skink, Three Kings skink
- Oligosoma grande (Gray, 1845) – grand skink
- Oligosoma hardyi (Chapple, Patterson, Bell, & Daugherty, 2008) – Hardy's skink
- Oligosoma homalonotum (Boulenger, 1906) – chevron skink
- Oligosoma hoparatea Whitaker, Chapple, Hitchmough, Lettink, & Patterson, 2018 – Pukuma skink, white-bellied skink
- Oligosoma inconspicuum (Patterson & Daugherty, 1990) – cryptic skink
- Oligosoma infrapunctatum (Boulenger, 1887) – cobble skink, speckled skink
- Oligosoma judgei Patterson & Bell, 2009 – barrier skink
- Oligosoma kokowai Melzer, Bell, & Patterson, 2017 – northern spotted skink
- Oligosoma levidensum (Chapple, Patterson, Bell, & Daugherty, 2008) – slight skink
- Oligosoma lichenigerum (O’Shaughnessy, 1874) – Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands skink
- Oligosoma lineoocellatum (A.H.A. Duméril, 1851) – Canterbury spotted skink
- Oligosoma longipes Patterson, 1997 – long-toed skink
- Oligosoma maccanni (Hardy, 1977) – McCann's skink
- Oligosoma macgregori (Robb, 1975) – MacGregor's skink
- Oligosoma microlepis (Patterson & Daugherty, 1990) – small-scaled skink
- Oligosoma moco (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839) – Moko skink
- Oligosoma newmani (Wells & Wellington, 1985) – Newman's speckled skink
- Oligosoma nigriplantare (W. Peters, 1874) – Chatham Islands skink
- Oligosoma northlandi (Worthy, 1991) – Northland skink
- Oligosoma notosaurus (Patterson & Daugherty, 1990) – southern skink
- Oligosoma oliveri (McCann, 1955) – marbled skink, Oliver's New Zealand skink
- Oligosoma ornatum (Gray, 1843) – Gray's ornate skink
- Oligosoma otagense (McCann, 1955) – Otago skink
- Oligosoma pachysomaticum (Robb, 1975) – Coromandel skink
- Oligosoma pikitanga Bell & Patterson, 2008 – Sinbad skink
- Oligosoma polychroma Patterson & Daugherty, 1990 – common New Zealand skink, southern grass skink
- Oligosoma prasinum Melzer, Bell, & Patterson, 2017 – Mackenzie skink
- Oligosoma repens Chapple, Bell, S. Chapple, Miller, Daugherty, & Patterson, 2011 – Eyres skink
- Oligosoma robinsoni (Wells & Wellington, 1985) - crenulate skink, Hokitika skink, cobble skink
- Oligosoma roimata Patterson, Hitchmough, & Chapple, 2013 – Aorangi skink
- Oligosoma salmo Melzer, Hitchmough, Bell, Chapple, & Patterson, 2019 – Chesterfield skink
- Oligosoma smithi (Gray, 1845) – shore skink
- Oligosoma stenotis (Patterson & Daugherty, 1994) – small-eared skink
- Oligosoma striatum (Buller, 1871) – striped skink
- Oligosoma suteri (Boulenger, 1906) – egg-laying skink, Suter's skink
- Oligosoma taumakae Chapple & Patterson, 2007 – Open Bay Islands skink, Taumaka skink
- Oligosoma tekakahu Chapple, Bell, S. Chapple, Miller, Daugherty, & Patterson, 2011 – Te Kakahu skink
- Oligosoma toka Chapple, Bell, S. Chapple, Miller, Daugherty, & Patterson, 2011 – Nevis skink
- Oligosoma townsi (Chapple, Patterson, Gleeson, Daugherty, & Ritchie, 2008) - Mokohinau skink
- Oligosoma waimatense (McCann, 1955) – scree skink
- Oligosoma whitakeri (Hardy, 1977) – Whitaker's New Zealand skink
- Oligosoma zelandicum (Gray, 1843) – brown skink
Nota bene: When you see a name in parentheses after a species name, it means that the scientist who first described that species originally placed it in a different group (genus) than Oligosoma.
Understanding Oligosoma and Cyclodina
Recently, scientists used special tests to study the genes of skinks. They found that a group of skinks previously known as Cyclodina are actually very closely related to Oligosoma skinks. Because of this, scientists decided to combine the two groups. Now, all skinks that were once called Cyclodina are considered part of the Oligosoma genus. This means Cyclodina is no longer used as a separate group name.
See also
In Spanish: Oligosoma para niños
