Suter's skink

Suter's skink
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Sauria
Family:	Scincidae
Genus:	Oligosoma
Species:	O. suteri
Binomial name
Oligosoma suteri Boulenger 1906

Suter's skink, Oligosoma suteri, is the only native skink in New Zealand to lay eggs - hence its other common name, the egg-laying skink. The egg laying Australian rainbow skink also is present in some parts of New Zealand. O. suteri lives on northern offshore islands from the Three Kings Islands to the Alderman Islands where it inhabits the coastal region, often very close to the water. It is known to hunt for prey in rock pools and is a capable swimmer in this situation.

It is named after Henry Suter (1841 – 1918), New Zealand zoologist, naturalist and palaeontologist.

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