Length: SVL up to 81mm, with the tail being much longer than the body length

Weight: up to 8 grams

Description

A distinctively striped and notoriously bold skink from the northern North Island. Moko skinks are an alert species which are a conspicuous and abundant component of many pest-free islands, but have suffered greatly on the mainland with only a handful of populations now persisting.

Head has a short, blunt snout, and eyes which are large and strikingly dark. Dorsal colour varies from light grey-brown through to dark chocolate-brown and occasionally almost black, usually with a dark mid-dorsal stripe which may break up on the tail or continue in-tact. At the edges of the dorsum (back) are distinctive cream or light-tan coloured dorsolateral stripes, which run from the snout to the base of the tail. The flanks have dark-brown lateral stripes bordered above by the dorsolateral stripe and below by a lower-lateral stripe of the same or similar colour that also starts on the head running along the margin of the upper-jaw. Dorsal and lateral stripes may be bordered with black. Ventral surfaces are grey or pale cream / fawn. When in-tact, moko skinks have a distinctively long tapering tail which is often over one-and-a-half times their body length (SVL), and slightly prehensile to aid with climbing.

Life expectancy

Unknown.

Distribution

Occurs in the North Island, mainly on the east coast from the Bay of Plenty to Northland. Moko skinks are present (and often abundant) on many offshore islands, but have survived at only a small number of sites on the mainland. 

Ecology and habitat

Moko skinks are diurnal and strongly heliothermic, they can often be seen basking in full sun on the edges of tracks, open areas, or in forest clearings. They are mainly terrestrial but will often climb low trees / scrub to forage above ground, individuals have even been spotted over 3 metres above ground in cabbage trees (Cordyline australis), (Tim Harker personal communication, 2020). They usually occupy areas of coastal forest, scrub, and grassland, where they often take refuge under rocks and logs, or in dense vegetation such as rank grass, flax (Phormium spp) and Muehlenbeckia spp.

Social structure

Moko skinks are regarded as solitary, but often occur in high densities at pest-free sites.

Breeding biology

Female moko skinks breed annually producing litters of one to six young from February to March. Juveniles are independent from birth.

Diet

Moko skinks are omnivorous feeding on a wide range of small invertebrates, and the fruit/berries of native plants such as Kawakawa (Piper excelsum), Coprosma spp., and Muehlenbeckia spp.

Moko skinks have also been reported catching and consuming plague/rainbow skinks (Lampropholis delicata) (David Craddock personal communication, 2020). 

Disease

Moko skinks are a known host for the ectoparasitic mite Ophionyssus scincorum. The blood parasite Hepatozoon lygosomarum has also been recorded from this species.

Conservation strategy

Moko skinks are secure on multiple predator-free offshore islands. On the mainland, a population is protected/managed by a pest-proof fence and extensive predator control at Shakespear Open Sanctuary in northern Auckland.

Moko skinks have also been translocated to several additional pest-free islands including Matakohe / Limestone Island near Whangarei (sourced from the Marotere Islands), and Rotoroa Island near Auckland (sourced from Tiritiri Matangi Island).

Interesting notes

Moko skinks get their common and scientific names from the Māori word for lizard ("moko").

Moko skinks have a deep divergence from other New Zealand skinks, and sit in their own clade (Clade 7) on the Oligosoma phylogentic tree.

There are at least three distinct clades within Moko skinks; Clade 1 (Eastern Coromandel), Clade 2 (Poor Knights, Barrier Islands, Mokohinaus, and western Coromandel), and Clade 3 (Hen and chickens group). These clades show extremely deep divergences, with these groups having been separated for 2-3 million years, pending further genetic work, they may warrant species-level distinction.

References

Baling, M., & Mitchell, C. (2021). Prevalence of Salmonella spp. in translocated wild reptiles and effect of duration of quarantine on their body condition. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 69(3), 174-179.

Carter, Z. T., Bodey, T. W., & Russell, J. C. (2021). Terrestrial vertebrate survey of Motukawanui. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 48(2), 174-184.

Chapple, D. G., Ritchie, P. A., & Daugherty, C. H. (2009). Origin, diversification, and systematics of the New Zealand skink fauna (Reptilia: Scincidae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 52(2), 470-487.

de Lange, P. J., McFadden, I., & Cameron, E. K. (1995). Preliminary report of the flora and fauna of Fanal Island, Mokohinau Islands Nature Reserve (p. 20). Wellington: Department of Conservation.

Hardy, G. S. (1977). The New Zealand Scincidae (Reptilia: Lacertilia); a taxonomic and zoogeographic study. New Zealand journal of zoology, 4(3), 221-325.

Hare, K. M., Daugherty, C. H., & Chapple, D. G. (2008). Comparative phylogeography of three skink species (Oligosoma moco, O. smithi, O. suteri; Reptilia: Scincidae) in northeastern New Zealand. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 46(1), 303-315.

Hitchmough, R. A. (1977). The lizards of the Moturoa Island Group. Tane, 23, 37-46.

Hitchmough, R. A. (1979). Lizards observed during a visit to the Cavalli Islands, December 1978 to January 1979. Tane, 25, 119-124.

Hitchmough, R., Barr, B., Knox, C., Lettink, M., Monks, J. M., Patterson, G. B., Reardon, J. T., van Winkel, D., Rolfe, J., & Michel, P. (2021). Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2021. New Zealand threat classification series 35. Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conversation.

Hitchmough, R.A., Barr, B., Lettink, M., Monks, J., Reardon, J., Tocher, M., van Winkel, D., Rolfe, J. (2016). Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2015; New Zealand threat classification series 17. Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Jewell, T. (2011). A photographic guide to reptiles and amphibians of New Zealand. Auckland: New Holland Publishing.

McCallum, J. (1980). Reptiles of the northern Mokohinau Group. Tane, 26, 53-59.

McCallum, J. (1981). Reptiles of Tawhiti Rahi Island, Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand. Tane, 27, 55-58.

McCallum, J. (1986). Evidence of predation by kiore upon lizards from the Mokohinau Islands. New Zealand journal of ecology, 83-87.

McCallum, J., & Harker, F. R. (1981). Reptiles of Cuvier Island. Tane, 27, 17-22.

McCallum, J., & Harker, F. R. (1982). Reptiles of Little Barrier Island. Tane, 28, 21-27.

McCallum, J., & Hitchmough, R. A. (1982). Lizards of Rakitu (Arid) Island. Tane, 28, 135-136.

Melzer, S., Hitchmough, R., van Winkel, D., Wedding, C., Chapman, S., & Rixon, M. (2022). Conservation Status of Reptile Species in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. Auckland Council technical report TR2022/3.

Mockett, S. (2017). A review of the parasitic mites of New Zealand skinks and geckos with new host records. New Zealand journal of zoology, 44(1), 39-48.

Newman, D. G., & Towns, D. R. (1985). A survey of the herpetofauna of the northern and southern blocks, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 15(3), 279-287.

Parrish, G. R., & Anderson, P. J. (1999). Lizard transfers from Matapia Island to Motuopao Island, Northland and observations on other fauna. Tane, 37, 1-14.

Parrish, G. R., & Pierce, R. J. (1993). Reptiles of Motuopao Island, Northland, New Zealand. Tane, 34, 53-58.

Patterson, G. B., & Daugherty, C. H. (1995). Reinstatement of the genus Oligosoma (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Scincidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 25(3), 327-331.

Robb, J. (1986). New Zealand Amphibians & Reptiles (Revised). Auckland: Collins, 128 pp.

Savoca, M. S., Gardiner, J., Colbourne, R. O. G. A. N., & Tennyson, A. J. (2018). Vertebrate prey in the diets of freeranging kiwi (Apteryx spp.). Notornis, 65, 242-244.

Towns, D. R. (1972). The reptiles of Red Mercury Island. Tane, 18, 95-105.

Towns, D. R. (1991). Response of lizard assemblages in the Mercury Islands, New Zealand, to removal of an introduced rodent: the kiore (Rattus exulans). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 21(2), 119-136.

Towns, D. R., & Hayward, B. W. (1973). Reptiles of the Aldermen Islands. Tane, 19, 93-102.

Towns, D. R., Neilson, K. A., & Whitaker, A.H. (2002). North Island Oligosoma spp. skink recovery plan 2002–2012: Threatened species recovery plan 48. Wellington: Department of Conservation.

van Winkel, D., Baling, M. & Hitchmough, R. (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: A field guide. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 376 pp.

van Winkel, D., & Ji, W. (2012). Evidence of lizard predation by New Zealand kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus vagans) and potential implications for threatened species translocations. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 39(3), 201-208.

Whitaker, A. H. (1973). Lizard populations on islands with and without Polynesian rats, Rattus exulans (Peale). Proceedings (New Zealand Ecological Society), 20, 121–130.

Wotton, D. M., Drake, D. R., Powlesland, R. G., & Ladley, J. J. (2016). The role of lizards as seed dispersers in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 46(1), 40-65.