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Oligosoma toka CHAPPLE, BELL, CHAPPLE, MILLER, DAUGHERTY & PATTERSON, 2011

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Higher TaxaScincidae, Eugongylinae (Eugongylini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Nevis skink 
SynonymOligosoma toka CHAPPLE, BELL, CHAPPLE, MILLER, DAUGHERTY & PATTERSON 2011
Oligosoma inconspicuum JEWELL 2008: 88
Leiolopisma inconspicuum PATTERSON & DAUGHERTY 1990: 66
Oligosoma toka — HITCHMOUGH et al. 2016 
DistributionNew Zealand

Type locality: Schoolhouse Flat, Nevis Valley, (45° 11’S, 168° 59’E), New Zealand.  
Reproductionviviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: NMNZ RE007278, adult male (coll. T. Bell, 2009). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Oligosoma toka can be distinguished from other related Oligosoma species through a combination of characters (Figure 4 in  CHAPPLE et al. 2011). Compared to O. maccanni, O. toka has a glossy appearance, with brown predominating whereas O. maccanni has a greyer ground colour. Oligosoma maccanni has a pale grey ventral colour rather than the yellow ventral colour seen in O. toka. The ear opening in O. maccanni often has large projecting scales on the interior margin, whereas these are often minimal or lacking altogether in O. toka. Oligosoma maccanni has four supraocular scales compared with three in O. toka, an unusually low number for New Zealand skinks. Sympatric O. polychroma have very similar colour patterns, but can be distinguished by a pale dorsal stripe on the outside of the forelimbs, and a greyish-brown ventral colouration. The ear opening in O. polychroma often has prominent projecting scales on the interior margin. There are statistical differences between O. toka and O. repens sp. nov. (SVL/HL, SVL/HLL, ventral scales, SE/EF), O. burganae (SVL/HLL, ventral scales), O. inconspicuum (SVL/FL, SVL/HLL, ventral scales), and O. notosaurus (ventral scales) (Figure 4). All O. toka have three supraoculars whereas all O. inconspicuum and O. notosaurus have four. The number of ventral scales in O. tekakahu (68) is fewer than O. toka (70–88), and the number of subdigital lamellae (16) is fewer than O. toka (17–23). The dorsal surface of the head is usually more strongly marked than in O. repens sp. nov., and the mid-dorsal and dorsolateral stripes in O. toka are more prominent than in O. repens [from  CHAPPLE et al. 2011]. 
Comment 
EtymologyFrom ‘toka’, the Maori word for rock or boulder. Refers to the rocky habitat on which this species occurs in the Nevis Valley. 
References
  • Bell, Trent, Craig Wilson and Sarah Herbert 2012. Determining a conservation threat classification for the Nevis skink, Oligosoma toka. BioGecko (1): 16-28 - get paper here
  • CHAPPLE, DAVID G., TRENT P. BELL, STEPHANIE N.J. CHAPPLE, KIMBERLY A. MILLER, CHARLES H. DAUGHERTY & GEOFF B. PATTERSON 2011. Phylogeography and taxonomic revision of the New Zealand cryptic skink (Oligosoma inconspicuum; Reptilia: Scincidae) species complex. Zootaxa 2782: 1–33
  • 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
  • Jewell, Tony 2008. A Photographic Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand [with corrections and comments in Chapple & Hitchmough 2009]. New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd,Auckland, 143 pp.
  • JEWELL, TONY 2015. Insight into the cryptic skink (Oligosoma aff. inconspicuum) species-complex in North Otago. BioGecko (3): 35-42
  • Purdie, Samuel 2023. Reptile/Invertebrate Survey - Pisa Range. Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust, New Zealand Department of Conservation - 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.
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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