| Types | Holotype: WRM 60/620 (Whanganui Regional Museum in Whanganui, New Zealand). Locality possibly incorrect, see Hardy, 1977. There are three specimens in BMNH (1946.8.17.59-60, formerly 1907.3.13.1-3, from Flat Island, presented H. Suter, that are recorded as types. The species was stated to be based on a single specimen, so presumably the BMNH specimens are subsequent, non-type specimens. |
| Comment | History: Boulenger received both a specimen of O. suteri and O. homalonotum on loan from Henry Suter, it was not until decades later that McCann and Hardy found out that O.homalonotum does not occur on Flat Island at all and the labels must have been mixed up somewhere along the line (J. Jansen, pers. comm., 30 Jan 2016).
Variation: variable, ranging from very pale specimens through to very black specimens (Baling et al. 2016).
Habitat: O. suteri is a strictly coastal species that lives on rocky beaches, often with abundant driftwood (Gill and Whitaker, 1996). It can tolerate saltwater, is a strong swim- mer that readily enters rock pools and the surf zone, and can hold its breath underwater for up to 20 min (Whitaker, 1968; Robb, 1980; Gill and Whitaker, 1996). |
| References |
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- Böhme, W. & Henkel, F. W. 1985. Zur Kenntnis der Herpetofauna Neukaledoniens, speziell der Gattung Rhacodactylus. Herpetofauna 7 (34): 23-29 - get paper here
- Boulenger, GEORGE A. 1906. Descriptions of two new lizards from New Zealand. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. 17: 369-371 - get paper here
- Chapple, David G.; Susan N. Keall, Charles H. Daugherty and Kelly M. Hare. 2017. Nest-site selection and the factors influencing hatching success and offspring phenotype in a nocturnal skink. Amphibia-Reptilia 38 (3): 363-369 - get paper here
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- FRANK, HERMANN 2015. Further observations on a population of the Canterbury spotted skink Oligosoma ‘Central Canterbury’ in lowland South Canterbury, New Zealand. BioGecko (3): 7-13
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- Hardy, G. 1977. The New Zealand Scincidae: a taxonomic study. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 4: 221-325 - get paper here
- Hare, Kelly M., Shirley Pledger and Charles H. Daugherty. 2008. Low incubation temperatures negatively influence locomotor performance and behavior of the nocturnal lizard Oligosoma suteri (Lacertidae: Scincidae). Copeia 2008 (1): 16-22 - get paper here
- Hare, Kelly M.; Charles H. Daugherty and David G. Chapple 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 - get paper here
- Hare, Kelly M.; Christopher G. Longson; Shirley Pledger, and Charles H. Daugherty 2004. Size, Growth, and Survival Are Reduced at Cool Incubation Temperatures in the Temperate Lizard Oligosoma suteri (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Copeia 2004 (2): 383–390 - get paper here
- Henle, K. 1981. Die Herpetofauna Neuseelands, Teil 3: Einheimische Skinke. Herpetofauna 3 (14): 14-18 - get paper here
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- Hitchmough, Rodney A.; Geoffrey B. Patterson, and David G. Chapple 2016. Putting a Name to Diversity: Taxonomy of the New Zealand Lizard Fauna. in: Chapple, D.G. (ed). New Zealand Lizards. Springer, pp. 87-108 - get paper here
- Janssen, J., Towns, D.R., Duxbury, M. and Heitkönig, I.M., 2015. Surviving in a semi-marine habitat: Dietary salt exposure and salt secretion of a New Zealand intertidal skink. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 189: 21-29 - get paper here
- JANSSEN, JORDI 2015. A first-recorded case of hypomelanism in a wild Suter’s skink (Oligosoma suteri) following eradication of invasive alien species. BioGecko (3): 43-45
- Patterson, G.B.; Daugherty, C.H. 1995. Reinstatement of the genus Oligosoma (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Scincidae). J. Royal Soc. New Zealand 25 (3): 327-331 - get paper here
- Smith, M.A. 1937. A review of the genus Lygosoma (Scincidae: Reptilia) and its allies. Records of the Indian Museum 39 (3): 213-234
- Stenhouse, V, Carter, AL, Chapple, DG, Hare, KM, Hartley, S, Nelson, NJ. 2018. Modelled incubation conditions indicate wider potential distributions based on thermal requirements for an oviparous lizard. J Biogeogr. 45: 1872– 1883 - get paper here
- Stenhouse, Vaughn I. 2017. Modelling the distribution of an oviparous skink, Oligosoma suteri. MSc Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 77 pp. - get paper here
- STEPHENSON, BRENT 2012. Suter’s skink (Oligosoma suteri) scavenging from a dolphin carcass. BioGecko (1): 44 - get paper here
- Winkel, D. van, Baling, M. & Hitchmough, R. 2018. Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: A field guide. Auckland University Press, Auckland, 376 pp.
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